


Snowfall

by FellowLesbian



Series: Five Seasons Quintet [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Bonding, Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Camp Jupiter (Percy Jackson), F/M, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Minor Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, New Rome (Percy Jackson), New Year's Eve, Past Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Romance, Sibling Bonding, Teen Romance, Thalia Grace & Percy Jackson Friendship, Tragedy, daily updates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-10-01 14:51:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 73
Words: 49,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17246180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FellowLesbian/pseuds/FellowLesbian
Summary: Seeing Thalia Grace in a dress was not something Percy thought he would ever see. Then again, everyone dressed up fancy for the New Years party that Chiron decided Camp Half-Blood would be hosting. Percy probably would've been laughing at her if she hadn't looked so . . . alluring.Book one of Five Seasons Quintet. Completed!





	1. New Years

When Chiron declared that Camp Half-Blood would be hosting a New Years party the night of New Year's Eve, Percy questioned how good of an idea that was. Having a party going through midnight with at least a hundred demigods, all of which had ADHD, something was bound to happen.

No matter, though, since it was happening. Percy wasn’t complaining, though, since it persuaded the demigods who weren’t coming over winter break to come. All of them were still in school, though most were seniors and wouldn’t be next year. At least half the Romans, except for the veterans, flew over to New York to join in with the rest of their friends. Multiple of the gods had declared they would be present as well. Zeus had banned any from coming, but most of the Olympians were sick of him and came anyway. Even the hunters joined in.

Piper had dragged the seven-plus Nico out to go shopping before the party. Despite the complaints, everyone ended up getting some sort of nice outfit. Percy settled on a simple dress shirt with black jeans, as did Nico and Frank, but Leo went full out in getting himself bright orange dress pants and shirt along with a red jacket. He forced Jason into going along, but Jason smartly refused to get any colours other than black and white.

All the girls ended up with a dress, though Piper refused to tell anything other than that. She had made sure that the girls and boys were unaware of what their partner had, even going as far as to send Jason away from the main group so she wouldn’t know what he had. Percy thought that was a bit excessive, but Piper would hear none of it.

Finally, after a long day of preparations and shopping, it was ready. No one was entirely sure what all was included, there was too much for an ADHD demigod to process at once. Percy did know there was food, and that was enough to convince him it would be good. Even though he tried to be quick, he was probably one of the last ones to arrive.

His first stop was, of course, the food table. Percy grabbed as many cookies as he could hold and backed away, biting into the first one, to look for his friends.

“Yo Perce! Over here!” He turned to see Leo, in his flaming red suit waving him over with a crazed smile on his face. Percy grinned back and practically skipped over to the group. The seven, along with Nico and Reyna, were sitting on a large blanket with a plate full of food in the middle. Almost all the boys had something in their hands. Percy plopped down next to Annabeth admiring her in her pale blue dress that went to her knees.

He slung an arm over her shoulder and leaned over to whisper in her ear. “You look beautiful.” Annabeth smiled and leaned into him.

“What took so long? Busy putting your makeup on?” Reyna teased.

Percy scowled playfully. “Oh, shut _up."_ He pointed an accusing finger at her face. “As if we can’t see all the makeup on you.” Reyna stole a cookie from Nico and chucked it at him.

Percy ducked under the delicious projectile and gasped dramatically, clutching a hand to his chest. “What have you done? You just wasted something valuable! How could you!” Reyna raised an eyebrow and flipped him off. Percy flopped back and pretended to have died.

“Oh, get up, Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth chuckled. “So melodramatic.”

“Come on, Dictionary, use words we actually know!” Leo shouted. “My tiny vocabulary cannot handle it!”

“Maybe she should do it more so that you might actually get smart,” Piper said, flicking Leo in the head.

“I am smart!” Everyone laughed at Leo’s protest.

“I’m not missing out, am I?” The group turned to see Thalia Grace approaching them, a bag full of something clutched in her hand.

Percy set his gaze on her and couldn’t tear it away. Her raven hair was spiked up, as usual, some of it falling over her pale face. Her electric eyes were brought out by a thick wing of eyeliner around her eyes, and her lips a bright red that looked like the colour of blood. She was in a strapless silver dress that fell to her feet, tight around her torso and illuminating all of her curves.

His eyes stayed on her as she settled down between her brother and Nico, placing the bag on the ground in front of her. Nico stole the bag, peering inside it, and looked at Thalia with wide eyes. She grinned, her red lips stretching out and curving upwards.

“Thalia, where did you get this?” Nico said in shock.

Thalia just shrugged. “Stole it from Mr. D. He won’t miss it.”  
  
“Hold on, did you steal _wine?”_ Annabeth said suspiciously. Thalia only smirked and pulled out a bottle.

“You do realise that all of us are too young?” Jason said.

“Too bad.” Thalia took out shot cups, ten to be exact, and poured some wine into each. They were passed around the circle, and Percy had shaken out of his daze by the time his got to him. He took a small sip. The taste was strong and overwhelming, sort of bitter, but a welcome distraction.

“So, what’cha want to do?” Thalia asked, sipping from her glass.

“Truth or dare?” Nico suggested, staring at his untouched wine.

“No, someone’ll end up dead if we do that,”  Annabeth said.

“Never have I ever?” Jason suggested. Nods of agreement were shown from around the circle, and so it was decided.

“Thalia, you start. You brought the wine,” Nico said.

Thalia thought for a second. “Never have I ever been to Camp Jupiter,” she decided. Everyone groaned. “All of you drink,” Thalia commanded. Everyone sipped. Percy watched in amusement as Nico drank, his face crinkling up in disgust. Hazel was no different.

“Never have I ever used celestial bronze,” Jason said from beside his sister.

“Targeting!” Percy complained, and the Romans laughed as all the Greeks took a sip.

“Never have I ever used imperial gold,” Piper countered, smirking at her boyfriend. Jason scowled as he and the other Romans sipped.

“Never have I ever gone to Canada,” Leo said. Percy, Hazel, Frank, Thalia, Nico, and surprisingly, Jason and Reyna all drank.

“When did you two go to Canada?” Frank asked Jason and Reyna.

“I went with the Amazons, Jason went on a quest,” Reyna answered.

Annabeth carried on. “Never have I ever met Lupa.” Everyone except for Thalia, Nico and Leo drank.

Percy thought about what he would say for a moment before deciding. “Never have I ever seen bunker nine.” Leo gasped dramatically but drank, as did Jason, Piper and Annabeth.

“I need to show you!” Leo demanded, jumping up and grabbing Percy’s wrist to pull him up.

“Alright, fine,” Percy surrendered.

Thalia hopped up as well. “I want to see this too. Count me in.” Percy kept his eyes off of her as he followed Leo, not wanting to get enraptured by her beauty once more.

It took maybe ten minutes before they reached the bunker. Both Percy and Thalia looked at the rock wall in awe, the carved lines that spiralled up and out from a single spot right at chest height. Leo pressed his hand in the slot and they all watched as the engravings lit up with light, the walls emitting a grating noise as they drew to the side to reveal the bunker.

Percy and Thalia went their split ways to explore while Leo went straight to Festus. They stayed for a long while as the two demigods traversed through the bunker.

Eventually, Leo called them both back. “Midnight’s in fifteen minutes,” he said. “I’m flying back on Festus. Either of you want a ride?”

Percy turned down his offer and was both overjoyed and nervous that Thalia denied as well. He wasn’t sure he could resist her if he was alone with her.

Leo and Festus took off, leaving Percy and Thalia to walk back. They were both silent as they walked back shoulder to shoulder. It wasn’t until he felt her eyes rest on him that he dared look at her.

Her eyes were on his face, half-lidded and relaxed as she regarded him. Her eyes strayed down to his lips before flickering back up, not seeming at all bothered by the fact that Percy knew she was staring. He was staring right back. He absorbed how extravagant she looked up close, the slight pink blush on her cheeks, the barely visible dark blue eyeshadow resting on her eyelids. His gaze dropped to her chest for a moment before rising to meet her eyes.

Thalia stepped closer to him, her eyes shining with lust. Percy hadn’t realised before then, but they had stopped walking, now standing with barely a foot of space between them. She moved closer yet, so her chest brushed against his, and Percy couldn’t bear it any longer.

He moved forward, capturing her lips with his in a rough kiss. Thalia stumbled backwards at his sudden advance, and he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist to keep her upright. She pulled back, breathing heavy, and Percy thought she would scold him and run, but to his surprise and joy, he smashed her lips right back against his.

Her hand tangled in his hair while the other curled around his neck. Percy slipped one hand down her arm, feeling her soft skin shift slightly as goosebumps popped up under his touch. She arched her back, pressing further into him and making a soft sound in the back of her throat that only added to Percy’s desire.

The drinks were settling into their blood. There wasn’t enough to call them drunk, but enough to shift their sense of right and wrong. Percy slammed Thalia’s back against the tree, releasing her lips to catch a quick breath before pressing them back again. Thalia shifted to nip at his lower lip, grabbing it between her teeth and tugging. He growled and pulled back, pressing hard kisses against her jaw and neck.

Thalia tilted her head to the side, a small moan escaping as he sucked on the delicate skin of her neck. Her eyes flickered open and spotted the moon directly in the middle of the sky. Midnight.

“Percy,” she gasped. “Midnight.”

He pulled away and glanced up at the sky. “We should go back,” he mumbled, but neither moved.

Thalia looked at his face, at the sky, then back at him. “Fuck it,” she said and pulled him down for another kiss. Both forgot about going back, the sound of fireworks going up as it hit twelve a sound only in the background.

Percy was aware, slightly, that this was wrong. She was a huntress and he had a girlfriend, but as he watched himself pull down the top of the dress to expose more of her soft skin, he knew he didn’t care. This was now, and he would enjoy it.

No matter the consequences.


	2. Science Fiction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reading was something Percy had always despised, but with Annabeth's prompting, maybe he could try again.

Percy dropped onto his bed, sagging into the mattress with a long sigh. He stared at the item in his hands, feeling a bit confused. This was something that had caused him much pain in his many years, and he swore that it gave him anxiety.

“Percy? Why do you have a book?” He turned to see his girlfriend standing in the doorway to the Poseidon cabin.

Percy sighed again, dropping his head. “Annabeth gave it to me. She said I should try reading it.”

Thalia Grace moved fully into the cabin, swinging the door shut behind her. She sauntered up to the bed peering over his shoulder at the book.

“Fahrenheit 451,” Thalia mused. “Interesting choice.”

“She said I might like the genre,” Percy stated. “Science fiction.”

“Well, not like you would know. I doubt you even know what science fiction is.” Thalia looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

He turned to look over his shoulder at her. “Nope. Annabeth might kill me if I asked her, though.”

“That’s true. Science fiction’s, like, futuristic stuff. Apocalyptic. It kinda does seem like your thing.”

Percy nodded, turning back to the book and flipping it open. “She got it in Greek,” Percy said in approval. “Wow.”

“She’s just awesome like that,” Thalia said.

Percy glared at the large `ενα on the page. “Well, here goes,” he muttered, moving down to the first word. Thalia sat down on the bed behind him, resting her chin on his shoulder. If Percy was forcing himself to read, she would make sure she topped him.

It took maybe five minutes of reading before Percy gave up. “This is dumb,” he announced, slamming the book closed and tossing it onto the floor. “How do people enjoy this?”

Thalia scowled. “Percy, you don’t just throw it on the ground. Maybe some people actually _would_ like to read it.” She hopped off the bed to pick up the book that Percy was glowering at. She dropped it onto an empty bunk. “Well, what do you want to do?”

“Kiss you?” He said hopefully, grinning at her innocently.

“You’re lucky I love you,” Thalia retorted, a small smile on her face as she moved back over to the bed. When their lips connected, Percy decided he preferred kissing over books any day.

He’d have to tell Annabeth science fiction wasn’t his thing.


	3. Chocolate Covered Cherry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy wasn't sure what to think when Thalia brought in a small white box and set it down on his bed. Possibly that she was attempting to kill him with some secret weapon.

When Thalia walked into the Poseidon cabin with a small, white box in her hands, Percy wasn’t sure what to expect. The huntress had a love for injuring him, so he wouldn’t be surprised if it was a bunch of tiny bombs, but he doubted she could easily get her hands on those. Whatever it was, he was curious.

“You’re welcome,” Thalia said as she dropped the box onto the bed. Percy just looked at her incredulously. She raised an eyebrow and gestured to the box. “Well? Open it!”

He cautiously took the top off of the box and was surprised to see an array of what looked like chocolate balls, all carefully tucked into a sort of egg carton. Percy gave Thalia a confused look as she sat down on his bed. “Did you bring me chocolates or something?”

“Just try one, Kelp Head.” Percy grasped one with two fingers and lifted it up to examine it, just in case Thalia had poisoned it. He wouldn’t be very surprised if she had. She was just like that.

Percy shrugged. “Here goes.” He threw the chocolate into his mouth and bit it in half. He was surprised at the explosion of sweetness that came with it. Thalia laughed at his face, taking one and dropping it into her mouth.

“Not denying that that tasted _a_ _mazing,”_ Percy said after swallowing, “but why did you bring me these?”

“Annabeth and Jason banished me from the little group gathering they seemed to be having, so I came here. Don’t know why, I’m loads of fun!” Thalia complained, throwing her hands up.

Percy laughed. “Yeah, I was ‘banished,’ too. They’re probably having some serious conversation about how to secretly exterminate us.”

“You, I wouldn’t be surprised about. You’re only the boyfriend. But me? I’m their sister and best friend! Besides, they would’ve gotten some of these treats.” Thalia took another chocolate sweet and popped it into her mouth.

“Yeah, only the boyfriend. Such an unimportant thing,” He muttered under his breath. “What are these things, anyway?” He took another and savoured the sweet flavour. Chiron refused to allow sweets inside the camp, so whenever someone managed to sneak something in, it was treated like they just managed to defy physics.

“Chocolate covered cherries. Best thing ever created.”

“Where did you get them? I wasn’t aware Artemis got you guys sweets,” Percy mused, taking another cherry.

“She’ll occasionally give us some money and let us go crazy if we annoy her enough,” Thalia answered.

“Artemis sounds awesome. Too bad Dionysus won’t do that,” Percy commented.

“An army of demigods charging off to the supermarket? Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen,” Thalia chuckled.

“As if a bunch of man-hating archeresses is any better.” Thalia waved her hand dismissively, making a noise of disagreement.

The duo sat in silence for a few minutes, eating the cherries, until Thalia decided it would be a wonderful idea to throw one at Percy. He yelped as it hit him right in the eye, making him fall onto his back more from surprise than the impact. Thalia burst out laughing.

“My gods Kelp Head, your reaction was hilarious!” Thalia managed through her fits of laughter.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh at my pain, will you?” Grumbled Percy. He kicked her in the shin. Her laughter died down.

“You did _n_ _ot_ just do that,” Thalia scolded.

“Like hell I didn’t.” Thalia lunged at him, walloping at his chest and shoulders. Percy shoved her onto the bed beside him, sitting up and then falling back onto her stomach so he was laying sideways across her.

“Get off me, you idiot!” Thalia shouted, writhing beneath him in an attempt to remove his weight.

“I think I’ll just stay here, actually. Quite comfortable.” Thalia punched him in the side, which had no effect on him whatsoever. “Beat me all you want, I’m not moving.”

Thalia pressed her hand against his side and sent an electrical shock through him. Percy jumped, rolling off of the violent girl. “Alright, alright, I’m up, now don’t touch me!” She just gave him an evil grin that Percy decided to classify as maniacal.

Thalia grabbed the box, which now only contained four cherries, but Percy didn’t comment. “I’ll be leaving now,” she told him, tucking the container under her arm.

“Bring some more of those next time!” Percy hollered after her. She didn’t answer him, shutting the door as she left, most likely to rejoin with the hunters.

Thalia never missed a chance to bring chocolate cherries after that.


	4. Trivia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hecate lost her polecat and Thalia gets extremely frustrated with her.

“Why should I fucking care that Hecate’s goddamn polecat is missing?” Thalia grumbled to her companion. “It’s her polecat. We shouldn’t need to find it for her!”  
  
“She’s a goddess, Thalia,” Percy groaned, tired of his friend’s constant complaining. “You try telling her ‘no, I don’t want to.’”

“Shut it, Jackson,” Thalia snapped, very much annoyed about the task Hecate had set upon them. Apparently, her polecat went missing and she couldn’t recover any information about the captor, so she had decided to steal the hunter’s lieutenant and a powerful demigod. Unfortunately, that was Thalia and Percy.

She had lent them her dog to help, but it wasn’t exactly being much help. It trailed them around and didn’t even try to track the polecat like was expected of it. The extent of its usefulness was being something for Thalia to take her anger out on.

“Thalia! Stop kicking the poor thing!” Percy complained as she slammed it in the side with her foot. It whimpered scampering away from her.

“It’s immortal! It’ll be fine! Plus, if I hurt her dog, maybe Hecate will realise we _do not_ want to be here!” Thalia yelled, lifting her fists at the cowering canine.

“I want a break too, Thals, more than anyone, but you know beating up Hecate’s pet won’t help,” Percy said, his voice cracking a bit as he spoke. “But you know the gods aren’t like that. No matter how much we deserve peace, we won’t get it.”

Thalia listened to Percy’s wistful speaking and feeling a rush of anger towards the gods. He was right. What had the gods ever done to deserve their service?

“Why shouldn’t we?” Thalia growled. “We’ve saved their sorry asses twice at _least._ We deserve better than we get.” She glanced up at the sky and muttered: “sometimes I think Luke was right about his father.”

Percy’s head snapped towards her. “Thalia, no,” he commanded. “Do not think like that. We saved the olympians for a reason. If we just throw that away now, then what have all the sacrifices been worth?”  
  
“That’s what I’m afraid of!” She shouted. “That they all died for nothing. That their sacrifices were for undeserving people who took their deaths for granted! All of them: Luke, Bianca, Zoë, Silena, every last one was taken for granted!” Her eyes glistened with tears but she refused to let them fall. Not with someone there to witness it.

“Hermes cared for Luke, Artemis cared for Zoë, Hades cared for Bianca, all of them were cared for!” Percy argued in a feeble attempt to defend the gods.

“Maybe so, but maybe not. Luke was the hero, only then did Hermes show love. Artemis never treated Zoë as a friend but as a servant. Bianca was to Hades his key to acceptance, not his daughter. Did they ever truly love us? Do they truly love us?” Thalia couldn’t keep back her tears now, letting them roll down her cheeks and onto the ground.

Percy moved and enveloped her in a hug. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, her tears wetting his skin. He rubbed her back comfortingly. “They’re just prideful. Many demigods are prideful: Annabeth, Jason, even yourself, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t love. Pride is only a mask, not the true person. I truly believe that the gods, however arrogant they seem, do have love for us.”

“Zeus doesn’t,” Thalia croaked, sniffling slightly.

“Zeus is an egotistical bastard.” She laughed quietly. “I’m serious. He may be your father, but it doesn’t matter that he doesn’t love you. You have Artemis, your sisters in the hunt, your brother, your friends, all of them love you.”

“Do you?” It was quiet, muffled slightly by the fabric of his shirt.

Percy stiffened for a moment, then relaxed again. “Of course. You’re the little sister I never had.”

Thalia pulled back and punched him in the arm. “I’m older than you, idiot!"

“You look younger.”

“Now we just sound like Artemis and Apollo!”

 “They’re siblings and they get along well. Just proves my point.” Percy smirked at her, dancing away from her as she raised her hand threateningly. Her eyes were slightly red and there were tear trails on her cheeks, but the slight grin sitting upon her face showed that she had been reassured.

“Do I need to do what Artemis does and threaten to shoot you where her brother doesn’t shine?” Thalia threatened.

Percy winced at the thought. “Nope. That’s unnecessary. We don’t need to do that.” She chuckled at the pained look on his face just thinking about it.

“Then let’s hurry up and find this damn polecat so I don’t have to be stuck out here with the likes of _you,”_ Thalia teased as she hopped over to where the dog was trying to reach some squirrels sitting on a branch up high.

“I’m offended! I’m a genuinely nice person! However could you say such a thing!” He said dramatically, raising a hand to his forehead to exaggerate.

Thalia smiled. “Alright Mr Nice Guy, let’s go.”


	5. Birds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia finds out why she will never visit New Rome again.

Thalia almost regretted agreeing to go to New Rome with Percy and Nico. She had figured it would be fun, seeing the place her brother grew up in and led.

She hadn’t been prepared for the eagles.

She had heard mentions of the Roman’s eagles thrown out in conversations but never thought much of them. She hadn’t been prepared for how  _ annoying  _ they would be.

She had always known she could speak with birds. It was a lot like Percy and horses: Zeus creates bird, children communicate with bird. Percy always spoke highly of horses though, never called it annoying or anything bad. But the eagles wouldn’t leave her alone.

_ “My lady, we caught a fish for you!”  _ She could hear the wings flapping as the bird tried its hardest to stay in one spot in order to hand her the fish.

Thalia groaned. “I don’t want it.”

_ “Oh, but my lady, we insist!”  _

“Listen, no means no. Go give it to Jason!” Thalia commanded, pointing towards the praetor’s villa.

_ “But he is with Horse Lord. Horse Lord doesn’t like when we bring fish.” _

“Go drop it on ‘Horse Lord’s’ head then!” Thalia yelled. The eagles were infuriating her to the point of insanity. Oh, why did Nico have to leave?

_ “But then my lord will get angry at us!” _

“I’m angry at you!”

_ “I’m sorry, my lady. What can we do to gain your forgiveness?” _

“Leave me alone, that’s what you can do!” Thalia was absolutely  _ done  _ with the eagles. If they weren’t under Rome’s protection, she would’ve shocked them so hard that all of their feathers would fall off.

_ “Would you like a bigger fish?”  _ That’s it. She was finding Percy and making him stay with her just so the goddamn birds would leave her alone. She stormed off towards the villas while the eagle followed her, cawing about some nonsense that Thalia definitely didn’t care about.

Percy was minding his own business, on his way to visit Frank and Hazel, when Thalia suddenly stomped up to him and yanked him by the ear. She did not look happy.

“What the fuck Thals? Can a person not just do what he wants?” He demanded.

“Where did Jason go?”

“He went to go meet up with Piper.” Percy was currently very confused. “Why? Do you need something?”

“I need the damn eagles to go away, that’s what I need!” Thalia shouted with anger, glaring at three eagles gliding in a circle around them.

Percy wasn’t any less puzzled. “Why do you need me?”

“Because they’re afraid of you,” Thalia grunted. “You’re my defence.”

_ “My lady!”  _ Thalia heard.  _ “Come back!” _

_ “We brought more fish!”  _ Another added.

“Why do I hear voices in my head screaming for help?” Percy asked slowly.

“Because the eagles keep bringing me fish but they’re scared to come close to you with sea life. That’s why you are coming with me while I make Jason force the birds away from me,” Thalia explained.

“So I have to hear the fish screaming at me the whole time?” Percy asked sarcastically.

“Hey, at least you aren’t being offered the fish.”

“Touché.”


	6. Cuddle Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy gets sick and needs Thalia to come care for him.

Thalia rapped her knuckles on the door of the Blofis residence. It took a moment, but eventually, it was opened. Percy stood in the doorway, looking absolutely miserable. He had a blanket draped over his shoulders and bags under his eyes.

“Hey Thals,” he said, but started coughing before he could get any further. “Sorry.”

“You’re lucky I’m such a caring girlfriend,” Thalia said, holding up a paper bag full of stuff to help with a cold.

“Thanks,” he rasped. “Sorry for calling you up. No one else was around.”

“You’re welcome. Now let me in.” Percy backed up out of the doorway, heading towards the couch when she stepped inside. Thalia shut the door behind her and followed the sickly demigod.

Percy crumpled onto the couch, laying sprawled across the entire length of the cushion. Thalia nudged his feet so they were pressed against the back of the couch to make room for herself. She dug into the bag and pulled out a pack of cough drops. She ripped it open and tossed one to Percy. He fumbled to catch it yet failed entirely, luckily it landed on his chest.

“Don’t take it yet,” Thalia commanded. She dug through the bag and pulled out a box of Tylenol.“Sprite or Mountain Dew?” She took a bottle of the latter for herself, twisting off the top.

“Sprite,” Percy mumbled. It was obvious he hadn’t had to deal with sickness for a long while with how wretched he felt.

She handed him the bottle along with a pill. “Drink it slowly,” she added as he popped the pill in and took one large gulp of the carbonated drink.

“Yes mother,” he commented jokingly, though it didn’t sound like it with how hoarse his voice was. He took the cough drop and Thalia searched for the remote.

“Turn on whatever,” Percy yawned. “I won’t last five minutes.”

“Maybe you should get sick more often,” Thalia commented. “If all I have to do is buy some stuff then I can sit and watch TV all day it sounds like a good deal.”

“Sure, ignore the boyfriend in pain, will you?” Percy scoffed. He dragged a pillow down so he could rest his head against it and let himself relax as Thalia flicked through channels on his TV.

Sally returned a few hours later, surprised to find Thalia on the couch with Percy passed out next to her. Thalia averted her gaze to give the mother a small grin. “He requested I bring him some stuff for his cold,” she explained, lightly brushing her hand along his calf.

“Has he eaten since you’ve been here?” Sally asked.

Thalia shook her head no. “Don’t think he’s eaten anything since he got up.”

“Of course not,” Sally muttered, smiling slightly at her son. “Why don’t you wake him up? He can eat now and then go back to his nap.”

Sally entered the kitchen while Thalia prodded at Percy’s side. He grumbled incoherently, shifting uncomfortably. “Percy, get up,” she demanded, poking him harder.

“St’p it Thals,” Percy slurred drowsily, swatting at her hand.

“You need to eat. Just for a few minutes?” Thalia tried. Percy exhaled deeply, clumsily pulling himself up until he sat up straight, pulling his legs out from behind her and resting his feet on the ground.

Sally brought out a small plate with crackers stacked atop it. She handed Thalia a small bag of chips to which the girl nodded her thanks. Percy nibbled at a cracker, obviously disinterested in eating, which was very unlike him.

Sally left to do something while the teens remained on the couch. Percy eventually finished off a few crackers and groaned uncomfortably. “I hate this,” he murmered.

“It sucks, doesn’t it?” Thalia replied. “C’mere.” Percy shifted over to her and she curled an arm over his shoulders, tucking him into her side. He snuggled into her, nuzzling her side. “Better?” She asked, pressing a slow kiss to the top of his head.

“Mhm,” Percy sounded. He yawned in a way that Thalia thought was adorable (though she would never admit it) and draped his arms over her stomach. Thalia rested her chin on his head, feeling the hair tickle her skin. She loved it when Percy was like this, drowsy and cuddly.

No matter how much she denied it.


	7. Bobbleheads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia makes an amazing discovery at the store and shows it to Percy.

Thalia was proud of herself. She really shouldn’t be, multiple gods would probably smite her for this, but it was too good of an opportunity to resist. Besides, it felt good to piss off the gods every once in a while.

The first person she decided to show off to was Percy. Partially because he would find this just as hilarious as her and partially so that he could keep them. She couldn’t take them with her and the hunters and Percy was the second best option.

Which meant she was now at his apartment door knocking. She hopes he was home. If not, Sally would be okay, as long as it wasn’t nobody. Or Paul. That would just be awkward. Luckily, Sally opened the door.

“Thalia! What a nice surprise! Come on in!” Thalia stepped into the homely condo, thinking about how long it had been since she’d been in here.

“Thals?” Percy came into the living room, looking at her curiously. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve got something to show you, and hopefully you can keep ahold of it for me.” Thalia held up the bag in her hand to show him.

“This better be good then. You would never come visit for something minor.” Thalia grinned following him back to his bedroom. Percy sat down on the edge of his bed and Thalia joined him, dumping out the contents of the bag.

Percy’s eyes bulged “No way!” He gasped, lifting up one of the boxes. There was a bobblehead of an elderly man with a long, white beard and white curly hair, bare-chested with a tunic wrapped around his groin. In his hand, he held a golden trident. The box named the toy Poseidon.

“Awesome, isn’t it?” Thalia said, nudging her cousin. Percy nodded. “Amazing how inaccurate mortals can be.” Percy pried open the box, freeing the bobblehead from its confines. He rested the toy in his palm, running his eyes over the whole figure.

“Always so old fashioned. Why can’t they believe Poseidon would wear swim trunks and a tropical shirt instead of a toga?” Percy asked incredulously.

“Because mortals can’t believe the Greek gods would be alive in mortal times,” Thalia scoffed. “You want to tell them that Poseidon wears tropical Caribbean clothes on a daily basis?”

“No,” Percy muttered, opening the Zeus box. Thalia found the recreation of her mistress and laughed at how much the mortals failed. The bobblehead showed her in a long, silver dress with long shimmery hair to match. Her skin was paper white, and though Artemis was quite pale, she was nowhere near how much they showed on here. There was a fawn curled around her legs, the head nudging the palm of its goddess.

“So you want me to keep these for you?” Percy asked, popping Demeter out of her plastic cage.

“Not like I can, so yes, I do. You will, right?”

Percy laughed. “Of course! How could I pass up the chance to own these terrible recreations?”

“Everyone else I can think of would’ve for fear of being smited,” Thalia answered.

“The gods need to be kicked in the face every so often,” Percy replied. “Zeus needs to learn not to throw a tantrum when things don’t go his way.”   


“You make him sound like a toddler,” Thalia commented while extracting Apollo.

“He acts like a toddler with lightning most of the time.” Thunder rumbled and Percy went over to the window, opened it up, and showed the sky his middle finger in the universal sign for ‘fuck off.’

“Damn, you’ve got almost as much guts as I do,” Thalia remarked after Percy had retreated back inside.

“Is that a challenge?” Percy smirked.

Thalia grinned. “Now it is. Where’s the closest place where mortals won’t hear us?”

“Probably somewhere within Central Park would be the best bet. Why?”   


“First one to annoy the gods wins. You in?”   
“Hell yeah. Let’s go.”


	8. Bubble Bath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think we all know where this is going to end up.

“Percy? Why do you have a bottle of ‘Bubble Bath’ in here?” Thalia called out to Percy. She was in his cabin bathroom, looking curiously at the container sitting on the side of his bath.

Percy peeked his head in. “Tyson gave it to me. I figured why not keep it?”

“You used it yet?” Thalia asked, picking it up to take a closer look.

“Nope. Haven’t got the chance to take an actual bath in a while. You wanna be the first?” Percy suggested, figuring she could take it with her. Not like he would miss it.

“Why not?” To his surprise, she set the bottle down and shed her shirt right there in front of him. He gaped at her, stammering to speak but unable to form a full word. Thalia chuckled. “What? Never seen a girl shirtless before?”

_ “Here?”  _ Percy said incredulously. “I figured you would take it with you. You’re not even kicking me out?”

“No,” she said, sidling closer to him. She took his chin in her hand and pressed herself against him. “Do you want me to?”

“But, but,” he spluttered, and Thalia only smirked.

She leaned up to his ear and murmured quietly, her lips brushing ever so slightly on his earlobe. “Will you stay and enjoy this with me?”

He found himself nodding to her, agreeing to her request. Her smirk never left as she stepped back and then stepped out of her leggings. Percy found himself admiring her slender, muscled body, his eyes travelling up her smooth legs and her well-built torso. She didn’t make any moves to remove any other articles of clothing.

“Well? Your turn.” Percy blushed fiercely at her words, but discarded his shirt and pants. Thalia took her turn to look upon his body. He looked just as strong as he was, and it was beautiful. She knew that she couldn’t turn back now.

She started the water, making sure to pour in some of the concoction. Percy moved to enter but Thalia stopped him. “Not yet,” she said, and then unclasped her bra. Percy’s jaw dropped. He openly stared at her chest, his eyes travelling over the exposed skin of her breasts. Her grin stayed in place and she slowly nudged his jaw back up. “We’re not done yet.” She ever so slowly, so excruciatingly slowly, dropped her undergarments. 

Percy was slowly processing the fact that Thalia now stood fully naked in all of her glory, directly in front of him. His mind practically shut down, and he could only stare at her fully exposed body. Thalia stepped closer, hooking a finger around the hem of his boxers and tugging down slightly. He understood the queue and dropped the article, watching as Thalia eyed him just as he had her.

She then stepped as close as could be allowed and pulled him into a hot, searing kiss. It was full of passion and lust and unmistakable  _ want.  _ Percy gasped as he felt her breasts press against his chest, giving Thalia entrance to his mouth. Their tongues battled for dominance and Thalia pushed him towards the almost full tub. Percy scooped her up and stepped back into the water, controlling it to reach up and turn off the faucet.

Thalia broke the kiss, sinking down and pulling Percy with her. She pushed Percy against the side of the tub and kissed him again, even better than the first now that they both knew what they were doing. Percy dragged his lips off of hers and nipped at her collarbone, drawing a gasp from the daughter of Zeus.

“Are you sure?” He mumbled against the skin of her neck.

Thalia was panting, her hands entangled in his hair, and she only tugged him closer and breathed “Yes.”

Percy kissed her again. And again. And again. Over and over until his lips felt like they were on fire.

It was from her that he learned to be loved.


	9. Static Electricity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How do you get Thalia and Percy out of the way? Tell them to fight each other and enjoy the show.

Capture the Flag games at Camp Half-Blood could get intense. Especially when you pitted Percy Jackson and Thalia Grace against each other and told them to fight it out.

Well, no one technically  _ told  _ them, but it was implied. Get the two powerful ones out of the way and suddenly it’s based more on strategy than ‘can Percy beat Thalia’ or ‘can Thalia beat Percy.’ It makes it more fun for the rest of the camp, and Percy and Thalia do enjoy beating each other up, so they get a bonus as well.

And so, at the current moment in time, Thalia was busy trying to blast Percy’s brains out. Percy, on the other hand, was trying to douse her so he could get the chance to defeat her, but she was too quick with her lightning.

Thalia had crackling bands of electricity twisting and curling up her right arm and would constantly recharge it with a bolt from the sky. She would lash out with a whip of lightning and shock him temporarily, a weak shock that was enough to make him pause for a moment yet barely sapped her energy. She could easily finish him off with a more powerful bolt but she enjoyed playing with him. It wasn’t often she was told ‘hurt Percy’ and was actually allowed to. She wanted to make the most of it.

Percy was putting all his effort into trying to come up with a plan to defeat her but the regular electric attack got in his way. He attempted to close in on her, and he managed, however slow progress was. There was no way Thalia could miss his advance. And she didn’t. She wanted to see what he would do.

Percy got within a few feet of her, and between her strikes he lunged for her. Thalia’s eyes widened and she shot a bolt at him, but even if it did hit him it just didn’t have enough force to overcome his weight. Percy crashed into her, both of them toppling onto the ground. He lay limp atop her, pinning her.

“Percy!” Thalia shouted angrily, sending another bolt through him. She didn’t dare try and pull lightning from the sky with Percy in direct contact with her and as such her electricity slowly dissipated. “Percy?”

The boy wasn’t responding. She could feel his chest moving against hers but he wasn’t reacting to any of her attempts. She became slightly worried she had gone a bit overboard. “Percy!”

“Nice to know you care about me,” the boy muttered against her neck. Thalia breathed a sigh of relief and Percy chuckled. “Worried, cousin?”

“Of course not. Why would I worry about  _ you?”  _ Thalia scoffed, threading her hands through his hair. She felt Percy smile against her skin. A small grin appeared on her own face as well. “You going to get up?”   


“But I’m tired!” Percy whined, snuggling further into her. “You’re comfy.”   


“I won’t be if you don’t get up,” she threatened, sparking a small electrical current between her forefinger and thumb.

“Fine,” he grumbled, rolling off her. “But I wanna cuddle! Come on! Please, Thals?”

“Suck it up, Kelp Head. Lightning won this battle.”


	10. Save the Eagles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia finds an injured baby eagle and Percy ends up needing to heal it.

“Percy!” Percy turned towards the sound of his name to see Thalia running towards him with something clutched in her arms. She skidded to a stop in front of him and thrust whatever she held into his grasp. “Heal him!”

Percy looked down to see himself holding a small white puff that was actually a bird. It had a broken wing with multiple long cuts on its body. He was surprised it wasn’t dead yet.

Whatever. He pulled some water over to where they were and wrapped the delicate creature in it. His healing powers washed over it, mending the scratches and ever-so-slowly adjusting the bone back into place. Percy passed it back to Thalia, who cradled the tiny animal close to her chest.

“What is it? Where did you find it?” Percy asked, curious about the fluffball she held.

Thalia kept her eyes on the bird as she responded. “He’s an eaglet. I found him on the woodland floor, likely pushed out of its nest or something of that sort. I couldn’t just leave him to die.”   


“I thought you hated eagles,” Percy said, remembering when they had visited New Rome and interacted with those eagles.

Thalia laughed. “I do. This is a baby though, I can’t just abandon him.”

“Alright,” Percy said with an unconvinced tone. “Let's see how long you can deal with it.”

She proved she could deal with it for a very long time. She took him practically everywhere with her, keeping him well fed and hydrated. He had a spot in the Zeus cabin reserved for him as well. Once he grew strong enough, he would sit on Thalia’s shoulder as she went about her day. Percy would often spot him as he dove into the lake to catch himself a meal.

She tried her hardest to get him to like the eagle as well. She named him Irimis, after the goddess of the wild, Artemis. He was a white-tailed eagle, with chocolate brown feathers everywhere except for the elegant white frill on his tail. In truth, he loved the young eagle. Irimis was like a flying dog. He loved bringing Percy sticks to throw and Percy enjoyed directing the eagle towards the archery range and watching him swoop in and snatch an arrow right out of the air, especially when the archer saw this.

When the rest of the seven came back from New Rome, Thalia and Percy had plans. Irimis joined them in planning a prank mission on the returning heroes. After growing up with someone he could speak to, he had a good understanding of the English language and could easily follow along with the conversation.

The eagle got the plan and jumped into the sky, soaring just above the tree line. The two cousins crouched in the bushed, chuckling to themselves. Thalia could sense six powerful presences nearby and held a finger to her lips in a signal to be quiet. Percy nodded.

Just as they rounded the top of the hill, Irimis dove and faked a crash. They all leapt back, not at all expecting an eagle to drop from the sky in front of them. Hazel, being the sweet girl she was, approached Irimis, who was thrashing and screeching and acting in pain. Really, you had to give him credit, he was a  _ wonderful  _ actor.

Hazel crouched in front of Irimis. “Hey,” she said kindly, reaching out to stroke his wing. Irimis froze, staring up at Hazel with wide yellow eyes. “Calm down, I’ve got you.” As Hazel leaned down to scoop him up, Irimis used his wing to slap her hands away and shrieked. He then took off into the air, bopped Hazel on the nose with his beak, and spiralled up. All the demigods looked stunned.

Irimis glided back down and sat on Jason’s head. He swatted at the eagle, but Irimis just stepped over the swing. He avoided multiple other attempts before leaning over, bopping Jason in the nose, and taking off again.

“An eagle shouldn’t know how to do that!” Annabeth protested as she looked in disbelief at the bird. “It should have programmed to either attack or flee, not aggravate in a very human-like way.” Irimis seemed to take this as an insult. He swooped down and whacked Annabeth in the head with his wing, making sure to poke her in the nose with his talon as well.

Percy and Thalia burst out laughing, stepping out of the brush. Thalia raised her arm and Irimis settled himself there, looking very proud of himself. The cousins were practically howling at the faces of their friends when Irimis nudged Percy in the shoulder and did his best attempt at a pout.

Percy chuckled and stroked Irimis’s head. This little bird was Percy’s partner-in-crime and he loved it.


	11. Step in a Puddle and Splash your Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short little chase involving puddles.

With Percy, the action of splashing someone by jumping into a puddle was taken to a whole new level. Thalia walked hand in hand with said son of Poseidon on the evening of what had been a particularly rainy day. Percy had taken to stepping in any puddle that he could reach, though Thalia was never bothered by it.

That was until Percy got bored with just that. He smirked as he stepped in an especially large puddle and maximized the splash, sending every last drop onto Thalia. She spluttered, shaking like a dog before glaring at Percy. He grinned cheekily, pecking Thalia on the cheek and then sprinting away as fast as he could.

“Get back here you asshole!” Thalia yelled, trying her best to gain footing against the slippery ground. Percy laughed as he saw Thalia struggling to chase after him, a look of frustration on her face. Percy bolted into the trees, listening to Thalia’s indignant shouts from behind.

Thalia reached the treeline and knew she had an advantage on this terrain. She moved swiftly, weaving between trees and prancing through the brush with much more grace than Percy was. She caught up quickly and watched as Percy turned around in surprise as she lunged.

Yet it seemed he wasn’t as stunned as he had seemed. He caught her in his grasp, lifting her off her feet and kissing her on the lips. Thalia thrashed for a bit, but his grip was too strong and his lips were too sweet. She eventually gave up and melted into the kiss, tangling her hands in his messy hair.

Though she was soaked to the bone and breathing heavily, she was the happiest she’d ever been.


	12. Kiss a Ginger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Stolls play a prank on Thalia.

“Stolls!” The two brothers bolted away from the enraged daughter of Zeus, laughing to themselves. Thalia was furious. The goddamned sons of Hermes found it okay to put _something_ in her shampoo and she had awoken with red hair. Ginger, to be exact, but not like it was any better with a different name.

In her opinion, she looked ugly as fuck with ginger hair. It contrasted terribly with her tan skin and blue eyes. She swore if she heard anyone make a single remark about her hair she would knock them so hard that they would be left with two halves of a head. No exaggeration

“Get back here you little shits!” Thalia yelled in the direction they had gone but didn’t bother chasing them. They were sons of Hermes, they were born for speed, she wouldn’t catch them. So she just scowled after them and pretty much tried to send them a mental vision of her mauling them.

Thalia retreated back into her cabin and was able to stay without interruption for a few hours. Someone knocked on the door, and she heard Percy’s voice call her name. Thalia exhaled heavily. “Come on, let me in!” Percy pleaded.

“You won’t like what you see,” Thalia called back. “But fine. That doesn’t mean I won’t kill you if you sarcasm me.” Percy opened the door and stepped inside and froze when he saw her draped along her makeshift bed. “Don’t speak,” she warned.

Percy held up his hands and moved over to the hammock, sitting on the floor beside her. “What happened?” He asked cautiously.

“Damn Stolls,” Thalia growled. “Can you kill them for me?”

“I will when I leave,” he said. “For now you get to enjoy my company.”

“Impossible,” Thalia groaned. Percy just chuckled and rested his chin on the fabric next to her head.

“I’m sure I can find a way to make you enjoy this,” he muttered into her ear.

Thalia rolled her head over to face him, their faces but an inch apart. “Really?” she said quietly. “I’m not sure I believe you.”

Percy smiled lazily, leaning forward to nip at her lip. “You should.” He brushed his lips against hers, and Thalia pushed into him. It was a bit awkward, with Thalia laying and Percy upright, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Percy pulled back slowly, inhaling deeply before letting his breath wash over her face.

Percy smirked. “I guess I can now say that I’ve kissed a ginger.”

Thalia slapped him.


	13. Sunday Supper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia finds her way to the Jackson household after being separated from the hunt.

It was a dreary Sunday afternoon. There had been a storm over Manhatten since sometime in the night and it was bad. The sky hadn’t gotten any lighter than it was at midnight. So when Percy heard a knock on the door, he was so surprised he practically fell off the couch.

“Well? Go and get it!” Sally called to her son. Percy scrambled onto his feet and made for the door. He opened it and was extremely surprised to find Thalia, shivering and soaking wet standing on his doorstep. Sally peeked out from behind him and her eyes widened. “Thalia! Come on in, dear, we’ll get you cleaned up.”

Thalia stepped inside gratefully, tightening the parka further around herself. Percy rested a hand on her shoulder and dried her off. She gave him a weak smile and Percy closed the door behind her, following after his mother. Sally offered Thalia a blanket, to which she happily accepted. “We were just about to eat,” Sally said. “You can tell us what happened over some food.”

Percy sat Thalia down in a chair by the table and took her dish, as well as his own, over to her. “Thank you,” she said hoarsely, her voice shaking. Percy looked at her in sympathy and sat down next to her. Sally took her seat across from the two and both looked to Thalia.

She took a bite of her food, cleared her throat and spoke with a slightly raspy tongue. “The hunt was ambushed. It came out of nowhere, attacking our camp. Artemis was on Olympus and couldn’t protect us so we were on our own. Myself and the older hunters tried to drive them off but it didn’t work. We decided to retreat and I got separated in the chaos. They chased me halfway across New York until I lost them and this was the closest place I knew to go.”

“You were right to come here. You can stay as long as you’d like,” Sally said with a motherly tone. Thalia simpered and continued to eat her food. The silence was a bit awkward so Percy took the time to look Thalia over. She was still visibly shaking even though she was no longer wet and her skin was so pale it looked unhealthy. He was relieved when it was over.

“Why don’t you find her some warmer clothes, Percy?” Sally suggested. Thalia didn’t even care that they would be his, she was so exhausted from running the entire morning and so cold from being out in the dew that as long as it was warm she would accept it. Thalia dragged herself from her chair and followed Percy to his room. He dug through his closet and tossed her a pair of sweatpants, a shirt and a sweatshirt. He exited the room and left Thalia to change.

She dropped the cover that was still around her shoulders and shed all her clothes except for her underwear. She put on the warm, clean clothes and sighed as their warmth touched her skin. She called to Percy and stumbled over to the bed. She pulled herself onto it and sat leaning against the wall. Percy sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Thalia leaned into him, letting his body heat seep into her skin like a blanket. She tucked her face against his shoulder and sighed as her face almost immediately began to warm. She was so tired that it was impossible to keep her eyes open. Percy kissed the top of her head lightly and she drifted into a doze, sitting between wakefulness and unconsciousness, blissfully unaware of her surroundings.

She eventually fell asleep to his soft murmurings with a soft grin resting upon her face. She was happy she came.


	14. Dress Up Your Pet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Irimis gets kidnapped and Thalia and Percy must go and rescue him.

Percy had just left the arena when he heard a feminine voice call his name. Thalia was sprinting towards him, a worried look on her face. “Come on, you need to help,” she demanded, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him towards the cabins.

“Hold on, where are we going? What’s happened?” Percy asked, very confused. Nothing seemed to be wrong.

“The Aphrodite cabin stole Irimis.” His eyes widened and he pushed forward with Thalia. He was incredibly fond of the bird and whatever the love children were doing to him couldn’t be good.

When the two cousins arrived, Thalia half broke down the door. Irimis was pretty much her child and she would  _ not  _ let some stupid fucking Aphrodite kids hurt a single feather on his head. That would technically make Percy the father, but she decided not to think about that. They stormed the cabin. “What did you do with Irimis?” Percy demanded, pointing Riptide at one of the boys.

“You mean the bird?” He replied cautiously.

“Yes, the bird! Where is he?” Percy yelled.

“I-I saw some of the girls take him into the closet!” The boy stuttered, edging away from the sword. Thalia cussed profusely and punched the closet door, where it was now obvious the majority of the cabin was. Seriously, how big was that closet?

That question was answered when an Aphrodite girl opened the door. Her eyes widened and she shrieked, slamming the door in Thalia’s face. The daughter of Zeus snarled and grabbed the doorknob, seemingly wrestling with an overpowering amount of girls on the other side. She sent an electrical shock through the door and charged through when all the girls screamed.

Percy took maybe a second to observe the vast closet, filled to the brim with the most fashionable clothes he had ever seen, before he crouched next to Thalia on the ground. Irimis, the poor thing, was tangled in maybe about a thousand strips of fabric as if the goal was to cover up every part of him. Thalia ripped the fabric off and tucked the bird against her chest. Irimis chittered happily and snuggled into her, looking pleased to have been rescued.

“Were you trying to mummify him?” Percy demanded, looking at the teens all huddling in the corner. There was no clear answer, only incoherent mumbling and shakings of heads. He scowled darkly but turned to Thalia. “Want me to take him while you beat them up?”

An evil grin spread across her face. “Lovely idea.” She scooped Irimis up, who cawed in irritation, and offered him to Percy. Irimis decided to do it himself and flew over onto Percy’s shoulder. Percy nodded to Thalia and exited the closet, then the cabin. 

Percy took Irimis to the Zeus cabin, not really caring when Zeus protested. He set Irimis onto his makeshift bed and sat on Thalia’s hammock. “So,” Percy said, extending the word to fill the silence. “How’d they catch you?”

Irimis imitated landing, then pecked at his cushions in a mock eating manner. Percy hummed in understanding. “Caught you with the food. I get you.” Irimis whistled in agreement, settling down onto the cushions. There was an awkward silence for a minute before Percy needed to do something. He managed to converge enough water from the air to form a liquid eagle, landing it on the side of Irimis’s nest.

Irimis’s head shot up so fast and just stared in amazement at the other bird. The water eagle cocked its head, staring at its real-life counterpart with nonexistent eyes. Irimis hopped up and twittered at the bird. Percy’s bird mocked the same movement as Irimis had, yet there was no sound. Irimis flapped his wings and the water bird copied him.

Irimis turned and stared at Percy. He shrugged. “Don’t look at me!” Irimis gave him a look that clearly meant ‘really?’ “Why do you think I did this?” Irimis cawed and made frantic gestures with his wings as if exasperated. “I guess it’s kinda obvious, isn’t it?” Irimis nodded. “Damn. Thought I could get you.”

Irimis trilled happily. Somehow, the damn bird was smarter than Percy. Go figure.


	15. Strawberry Ice Cream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy criticizes Thalia's ice cream choice.

“Are you serious?” Percy said incredulously, looking in disbelief at Thalia's plain pink ice cream topped on a cone. _“That's_ what you got?”

  
“It's good,” Thalia retorted. “Sometimes simple things are better than whatever monstrosity you have there.”

  
“Don't call this a monstrosity!” Percy shouted, taking a large bite out if the top.

  
“Don't criticize my choice then, or I'll criticize yours,” Thalia said. “Hypocrite.” Percy only scowled and bit again into his ice cream. Thalia took a mouthful of her own, savouring the simple fruity taste. “Why don't you try it? Then tell me how horrid it is.”

  
“Fine,” Percy agreed and took Thalia's cone. He took a tentative bite, slowly chewing. His face wrinkled up in disguise. “Take it back!” Percy demanded, shoving it into Thalia's hand.

  
“Don't understand how you don't like it,” Thalia muttered.

  
“I don't understand how you _do_ like it,” Percy said. “That is the worst thing I've ever tasted.

  
Thalia snorted. “Doubtful.”

  
“It's true!”

  
“Liar.”

  
“Well fuck you, Thalia,” Percy stated.

  
She chuckled. “You wanna fuck me? Wow, don't I feel special!”

  
Percy's face went bright red. “Shut up,” muttered. Thalia laughed and pecked him on the lips, getting some of the strawberry taste in his mouth. He mock gagged, wiping his lips off with the back of his hand. “Asshole.”

  
“Bastard,” Thalia replied.

  
“Bitch.”

  
“Shite.”

  
“Whore.”

  
“Fucker.”

  
“ . . . Goddamnit.” Thalia laughed as Percy blanked. “You got any more insults up your sleeve?”

  
“Dick,” Thalia suggested.

  
“That's just accurate,” Percy replied.

  
Thalis nodded. “True.” She nudged his groin with her knee and Percy backed away.

  
“Don't you touch me,” he said threateningly.

  
Thalia grinned evilly. “Oh, but why not? Wouldn't you like me to?”

  
“You'll just hurt me!” Percy whined.

  
Thalia ran a finger over his chin. “What if I wouldn't,” she said seductively, stepping closer. Percy's breathing quickened, and she was sure the bulge in his pants grew.

  
She kneed him in the groin and shot off, leaving the poor boy howling.


	16. Nothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy's keeping secrets.

“Percy,” Thalia called. “What are you doing?”

  
“Nothing!” The son of Poseidon said,  hurriedly tucking something into his pocket. “Why do you ask?”

  
“I repeat: What are you doing?” Thalia said slower, stalking towards Percy. He backed away, pressing his back against the wall.

  
“I-I don't know what you mean!” Percy stuttered, tucking his hands behind his back and fiddling with whatever was in his pocket. “I told you!”

  
“Jackson, I swear, whatever it is you have I will get and you might possibly die,” she threatened, raising a fist. “You're hiding it for a reason.”

  
“No, I'm not!” Percy defended, but Thalia took two long strides, grabbed his shoulders and shoved him forward. “Hey!” Percy complained, but Thalia had already taken what was in his pocket.

  
“Why do you have Aegis?” Percy yelped and bolted past her through the door, leaving Thalis cussing behind him.

  
He was in for a beating.

**If you know any good Perlia stories, tell me. I need inspiration.**


	17. Bootlegger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia sneaks in something it was way too early for.

“Guess what I've got?” Thalia sang, skipping into Percy's cabin.

  
“What?” Percy groaned. “It's too early.”

  
“What about for booze?” Percy blinked awake, rolling his head to stare in sleepy astonishment at Thalia, who reached down to pull a bottle of booze out of her boot. “Surprise.”

  
“Seriously?” Percy muttered. “You brought me alcohol at dawn?”

  
“It’s actually, like, eight or something just as far away from dawn.”

  
“Who drinks liquor in the morning?” Percy moaned, throwing a pillow over his head.

  
“Me.” Thalia set the drink on his nightstand and drew two shot cups from her pocket. “And now you.”

  
“Go away.”

  
Thalia clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth. “How rude of you. Come on, share a bottle with me. You'll enjoy it.”

  
“I won't. Leave, Thalia, please,” Percy said, his voice muffled by the pillow. She ignored him and opened the bottle, which read Whiskey, and poured the two shots.

  
“Take it,” Thalia demanded. Percy removed the pillow, raised his hand to take it, and chucked it back at Thalia. She spluttered and coughed. “Bastard!” Percy chuckled quietly before Thalia's glass hit him on the head, falling onto the bed.

  
“Fuck you!” Thalia laughed then, leaning down to peck him on the lips. Percy pulled her back down, engaging in a full-on makeout session.

  
Whiskey was promptly forgotten.

 


	18. Michigan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia invites Percy on a trip with the hunters.

**These are not all part of one storyline, they are plotless little drabbles.**

  
“You do realize how dangerous this is?” Percy said, leaning closer towards Thalia.

  
She snorted. “Why do you think you're here?”

  
“Is this the whole reason you asked me to come along?” He said incredulously.

  
“Yep.”

  
“And Artemis agreed?”

  
“Surprisingly,” Thalia replied. “She said, and I quote, that ‘he is the most honourable male to ever walk the Earth.’”

  
Percy whistled. “Damn. Doesn't she like me?”

  
“Don't let her hear you saying that,” Thalia warned. “Her respect won't last long if you get cocky.”

  
“I won't,” Percy reassured. “I don't need any more godly enemies.”

  
“Good, because if she hadn't let you accompany us then I would've dragged you here by your ear,” Thalia threatened.

  
Percy chucked. “I don't doubt it. So did you come to Michigan for this reason too?”

  
“It had been already planned,” Thalia replied. “This was just an afterthought.”

  
“Well, it was actually nice,” Percy said. “The hunters seemed to respect me.”

  
 _“I_ think they liked you,” Thalia commented. “You should come more often.”

  
“I'll think about it. Now, we going in or not?” Thalia laughed and stripped off her shoes, socks and jacket before sprinting into the cold waters of Lake Michigan.

  
The water immediately began the churn, curving into a mini whirlpool around the daughter of Zeus. Percy lightly pushed back at his father while he bolted after Thalia. “Don't do that!” He scolded.

  
Thalia had a wide grin on her face after Poseidon retreated. “You kidding? That was awesome!”

  
“You're insane,” Percy murmured before using his powers to swipe Thalia off her feet. She yelped and went under. Percy ducked under after, coming face to face with Thalia.

  
Her shirt floated loosely around her, incredibly see through from the wet. Her sports bra was visible with noticeably hard nipples. Her makeup was all over and her hair floated around her head like a halo. In Percy's opinion, she was beautiful.

  
She gave him a smirk, pecked him quickly on the lips and swam up for air. Percy stayed there, astonished, for a whole minute before he glanced up at Thalia. She was waiting for him to come up.

  
He swam up behind her and wrapped his arms around her hips, lifting her out of the water and using his powers to keep them from sinking. Thalia squealed and Percy smiled into her back.

  
He would go with the huntresses any day.

 


	19. Popcorn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy wants a movie night and gets more than he asked for.

“I can’t believe I agreed to this,” Thalia muttered, flopping onto the couch next to Percy.

 

You know you’ll love it,” Percy chuckled, throwing an arm around her shoulders. “We can watch whatever you want.”   
  
“Good, because we are  _ not  _ watching Finding Nemo again,” Thalia said, glaring at Percy, who only grinned and shrugged. “You got any horror movies?”

 

Percy’s face turned into one of panic. “We are not watching a horror movie!”   
  
“Too late, I believe it was you who just said it was my choice,” Thalia taunted. “Now answer the question.”

 

“We’ve got three,” Percy finally murmured in defeat.

 

“Which are?”

 

“The Conjuring, The Shining, and Saw.” Percy winced slightly as he said the names. Thalia grinned darkly and hopped up, looking at him expectantly. “The very back of the right drawer.”

 

Thalia shuffled through the movies in said drawer, pulling something out and popping it into the disk drive. Percy cringed when a large, red three-letter word popped up on the screen. Thalia sat back down next to him, grabbing the remote and clicking play before getting comfortable against his shoulder.

 

Percy nudged her. “Budge up for a moment. If we’re watching scary stuff, I at least need some popcorn.”

 

Thalia sighed. “Fine. Turn the lights off while you’re at it.” Percy gave no verbal response and exited the room to get himself some popcorn. He returned a minute later, reluctantly flicking off the lights before taking his spot on the couch. Thalia pulled the bowl between them so she could have some of it herself. 

 

Percy was obviously not very good with horror. Not even halfway through the movie and he was already curled up against Thalia, her arm draped over his shoulders while he would bury his face in her side whenever something even remotely frightening popped up. Thalia was enjoying his fear very much.

 

Eventually, he just nuzzled himself into her stomach, half laying down by now and grumbled to “tell me when it’s over.” Thalia was perfectly content to thread her hands through his hair and finish the movie herself. 

 

When it was finally over, she lightly tugged at his raven locks. “It’s done.” He only groaned incoherent words and cuddled closer to her. She grinned and dipped her head down to nip at his ear. He swatted at her head and she just bit harder.

 

“Stop it!” He whined. She laughed, lightly kissing his cheek.

 

“I think a bed might be a bit more comfortable than the couch,” Thalia whispered into his ear.

 

“But it’s scary going down the hallway!” Percy complained.

 

“Aw, does the big baby need me to carry him?” Thalia said mockingly.

 

“Yes!”

 

“Too bad, you’re too heavy.” Percy finally craned his neck lazily, his sleepy eyes looking into her bright and awake ones. Thalia smirked and shoved him off the couch.

 

“Ow!” Percy curled into a ball on the floor, refusing to get up even when Thalia kicked him.

 

“You did that to yourself.” Percy made a really pathetic sound at the back of his throat, flailing his arm in Thalia’s direction. She chuckled, kneeling onto the ground next to him and rolling him over so she could kiss him on the lips.

 

Maybe horror movies weren’t that bad.


	20. Disc Jockey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy's acting down and Thalia finds Terpsichore.

“Thalia, why are we at a club?” Percy said nervously. She had been poking at him for the past few hours and eventually just dragged him off to somewhere, which ended up being the Chorean Dance Club. The sign showed laurels and old-fashioned dancers, leading him to believe that this had something to do with the gods.

 

“You were acting all sad and depressed, I figured some drinks would help,” she grinned. They stepped through the grand doors into a large room lit up with blue and purple lights. It wasn’t the typical club though, still keeping multiple of the more godly aspects of things. That mainly being that there were a lot of people wearing togas with laurels on their heads, and there wasn’t any pole dancing or other seductive activities in plain sight (not saying there weren’t other rooms filled with more heated affairs).

 

“But a club?” Percy protested, trying to back out the door.

 

“It’s run by one of the nine muses, Terpsichore,” Thalia said offhandedly. “ Don’t worry, as long as we stick to the main room we should be fine. Terpsichore doesn’t like sex on the dance floor.”

 

“That’s supposed to reassure me?” Percy said incredulously. “If so, it really doesn’t.”

 

“Too bad,” Thalia retorted. “Now come on, you need your innocence ruined.”

 

“What innocence?” Percy muttered under his breath as he was dragged onto the dim floor. If Thalia heard him over the loud electric music, she didn’t say. He expected her to stop somewhere to dance along with the rest of the mythicals, but instead, she took him over to a bar situated in the corner.

 

“I’m too young to drink!” Percy complained, but Thalia pushed him onto one of the stools.

 

“So? These are gods. They won’t care,” Thalia scoffed, raising her hand for the bartender. “Let's start with some spiked nectar for us both,” Thalia spoke.

 

“They make spiked nectar?” Percy asked.

 

Thalia laughed. “Of course, why wouldn’t they? Nectar and alcohol are two of the most liked things on Olympus, next to sex. It seems obvious that they would combine them.” Percy just nodded as if alcoholic godly beverages were an everyday thing.

 

Their drinks were set in front of them, a single shot, and Thalia went ahead and ordered two cups of ale. Percy cautiously took a sip of his drink and immediately felt the effect it had on him. He felt vibrant, the nectar taking the alcohol straight to his brain. He felt like he had just downed two bottles instead of a sip. It was exhilarating. He finished the rest of the shot in a gulp.

 

Thalia grinned as she noticed his rush. She swilled her shot and gave Percy a smirk. “Told you.”

 

“This is amazing!” He gasped. “My gods!”

 

“I know! Thalia laughed. “Godly beer is the best.”

 

Percy hummed in agreement as their ale was delivered. Thalia took a swig of hers and Percy followed her actions. The two cousins proceeded to get drunk out of their minds over the course of the next few hours, having way too many drinks and slurring about meaningless things and giggling about it.

 

They eventually stumbled out of the club and managed to find their way out of the Manhattan and back to Camp Half-Blood, both of them staggering into Cabin Three. Thalia fell onto Percy’s bed, snagging her hands on his shirt and pulling him down on top of her. She grunted as his weight dropped onto her but only grinned cheekily while pulling him in for a sloppy kiss.

 

They grasped at each other’s clothes, desperate, their minds fogged by liquor, but neither had any regrets come morning.


	21. Squirrel Appreciation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy gets punished and Thalia has to deal with it.

When Thalia returned from her hunt, she was pleasantly surprised to find an amused Artemis with an enraged squirrel hopping around her feet screaming at her. It wasn’t unusual for Artemis to bring animals into the hunters camp, but. never were they angry at her. No animal dared to rage at their mistress. But there was also the question of where a certain male demigod had gone.

 

“Artemis?” Thalia asked cautiously. “Where did Percy go?”

 

Artemis just grinned evilly and the squirrel at her feet bounced over to Thalia, squeaking and gesturing in a very human way. “He is currently pleading for your help.”

 

“Why did you turn him into a squirrel?” Thalia said incredulously. “Did he do something wrong?”

 

“He got a bit too cocky,” Artemis said. “I figured I would punish him a bit, just for the day.” Percy the squirrel squealed and bolted back over to Artemis, his miniature claws helping him to easily climb up her small form and yell in her ear. 

 

Artemis chuckled, plucking him off her shoulder and holding him by his scruff in front of her face. “Now, now, no need for profanities,” Artemis scolded. “Be a good squirrel and leave me alone.” She bent over to set Percy on the ground and nudged him with her foot towards Thalia. The goddess gave Thalia a wide grin and then flickered out of the camp, leaving her lieutenant with a very angry animal demigod.

 

“So . . .” Thalia trailed off. “What do you want to do?” Infuriated squirrel noises told her that was not what she should’ve asked. “I’m sorry, I can’t change you back. This is pretty hilarious though, I have to admit.” Didn’t help her situation, but what could he do?

 

Percy just did his best impression of a growl (not very intimidating) and hopped up onto her shoulder, curling himself around her neck like a scarf and flopping down. “What are you doing?” Thalia asked curiously, turning her head to look down on his furry head. Percy just swatted at her face, his little claws leaving three red marks on her chin that didn’t really hurt much but would be very unattractive. She just shrugged it off and went on to do her share of chores.

 

She didn’t really mind carrying a rodent around on her neck for the remainder of the day, though Artemis found much mirth in that fact when she returned from Olympus. Percy, of course, immediately stormed across the table and tried his hardest to make her fix him, and she made the situation much more amusing by simply replying, “fuck you.”

 

It wasn’t until late, after the rest of the hunt had retreated to their tents, that Artemis turned him back. She had tried to avoid it, leaving with the last of the huntresses, but Percy squealed loudly after her. She snapped her fingers without turning around and Percy was back into his normal form. “Goddamnit Artemis!” He yelled after the goddess, who only laughed and slipped into her tent.

 

“Explain why you were on my shoulders all day,” Thalia immediately demanded when he turned around.

 

“I was hoping you could convince Artemis to change me back at some point,” Percy said. “Obviously not.”   
  


“Why would I?” She smirked. “I find joy in your pain.”

 

“Wow, so kind. Feeling the love today,” Percy groaned. Thalia only punched him in the shoulder, the smirk still glued to her face, before she left to her tent.

 

Percy sighed. He never would understand girls, especially the hunters.


	22. Blonde Brownies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sally makes Percy and Thalia some treats.

“You ever had a blondie?”

 

“What?” Thalia responded, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “A Blondie?”

 

“Yeah. blonde brownies. Don't tell me you've never heard of them,” Percy replied, flopping down on his bed beside her.

 

“I haven't,” she said flatly. “Care to explain?”

 

“Their brownies, just blonde.” He paused, looking thoughtful for a second. “There's an ingredient switch, but I don't know what it is.”

 

“Why are you telling me this?” Thalia demanded, glaring at him. The only reason she was here was that Sally was the closest person willing to take her in for the school season, since, according to Chiron, she 'needed to experience mortal life.’ Percy could be  _ very  _ annoying sometimes. 

 

“Because my mom's making blue brownies, and she said she would make some blondies for you.” Truthfully, that got her a bit excited. She had never even heard of brownies before she met Luke, and she’d never had any until Olympus. Even now, they were like a delicacy to her. To know that Sally was willing to make her brownies, or blondies, whatever, it made her happy.

 

She couldn’t resist asking how soon they’d be done. Percy laughed. “Someone’s prepared to have treats. She said it’d be maybe an hour or two.” Damn. That was a long time for an ADHD demigod.

 

They passed the time by carrying out some casual conversation, with the addition of lots of abuse and some lightning. Thalia couldn’t help visibly perking up when the heavenly aroma of fresh treats, a bit like cake and a bit like chocolate but something else entirely. Percy laughed, even though he also had a bit of shine in his eyes. “You ready?”

 

“Hell yeah!” She said fiercely. “Let’s go storm the kitchen.”

 

The two teens exited the room and carried out their charge to the kitchen, trying (failing) to be stealthy. Apparently, Sally had super ears and was already prepared, with two plates on the table. One of the squares was a dark blue on top with a duller colour on the more crumbly inside. The other was a brownish yellow with small chocolate pieces stuck inside it. “Don’t be greedy,” Sally scolded when they both rushed the table. Percy mumbled what was probably a thank you through his bite of blue. 

 

“Thanks, Sally!” Thalia said before she bit into her brownie. It was the best thing she had ever eaten. It was definitely chocolate, that much was obvious, a very rich, dark chocolate, but there was also a taste almost like caramel. A sweet undertaste. The texture was soft with a contrasting crunch that the chocolate chips added in. She almost moaned.

 

“Good, I guess?” Sally commented, chuckling. Thalia nodded hastily, taking another large bite. 

 

She watched as Percy tore off a corner of his and then nodded to her. “Trade?”

 

She thought it over, then nodded. “Trade.” She ripped the corner off and they switched, a few crumbs dropping onto the table between. Sally watched with amusement as they did this, happy with her decision to take in Thalia. She really was a wonderful addition.

 

Thalia thought hers was better. Percy’s was more on the chocolate side, more firm and of a consistent texture. That didn’t mean she didn’t enjoy it. 

 

“It’s definitely good, but I have to admit that mine are much better,” Percy said, smirking at Thalia.

 

“Are not!” She protested, slamming her hand on the table to add effect.

 

“Liar,” Percy taunted, popping the last of his brownie into his mouth. Thalia did the same and then Percy bolted back towards his room.

 

“Come back you bastard!” Thalia yelled after him, darting down the small corridor to his bedroom. She faintly heard Sally’s call about her profanity, but Thalia ignored it. Thalia never carried out and punishment against a bit of bad language. Percy slammed his door and she slammed into it shoulder first.

 

They got along well.


	23. Handwriting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia tries one of Percy's hobbies.

Unknown to about everyone, Percy was, surprisingly, a wonderful artist. He kept a sketchbook full of pencil drawings in his dresser, and would periodically take it out to sketch. Thalia knew about his drawings and would sometimes visit while he was in the middle of something and just sit by his side and watch as he created a masterpiece.

 

His handwriting was also surprisingly good. Under almost all his drawings he would leave a short little note (Greek, of course) and Thalia was amazed at how beautifully the symbols were formed. She, in truth, was the complete opposite. Her handwriting was terrible and she had never even dared to attempt a drawing. Considering the fact that she grew up without ever attending school, it was accepted. A lot of the campers never were taught to write, or even read, and were usually taught by Chiron and the elder campers. 

 

Percy, since she was most often around when he drew, often would sketch a portrait of Thalia. She could never understand how he managed to capture every little detail, each freckle placed carefully upon her circular face, the birthmark that sat hidden wrapped around the base of her ear, her long eyelashes, even the small scar she had on her right cheek from an accidental maiming in dual with, ironically, Percy.

 

At some point in this process, Thalia decided she wanted to make her attempt at a drawing. Percy was overjoyed to let her borrow his sketchbook and urged her to start with something simple, like, perhaps, a pen. He volunteered Riptide and Thalia set the pen down on the desk that sat in the cabin corner, taking Percy’s spot in the rolling chair and glaring at the pen for probably a minute straight. Then she began.

 

It was, of course, horrible. Not a single line was straight and it just looked like a blob of lines. Percy said that some light shading would round it out, but she wasn’t even going to dare try  _ that.  _ Then he just told her to sign it. She did without question.

 

“Well, not a bad first try,” Percy said while studying the image. “But can we talk about that signature?”   
  
“You told me to sign it!” Thalia said defensively. “I did. Should I not have done my name? You usually just write P. Jackson, I thought Thalia was fine.”

 

“No, not what you wrote, but how you write it,” Percy corrected. “Your handwriting, to be specific.”   
  


“I taught myself to write! I didn’t have the leisure of going to school like a normal kid,” Thalia pointed out.

 

“Still!” He wrote her name directly below where she wrote it, very lightly, and it looked twice as good. “I just don’t understand. Try and copy what I wrote.”

 

Thalia tried, but it was squiggly and disoriented, which destroyed the nice effect she was going for. “How can you get such perfect lines!”

 

“Practice?” He guessed.

 

“It’s probably the ADHD,” Thalia murmured. “That must be it.”

 

“Are you forgetting that I have that too?” Percy said. “I manage.”

 

“Greek letters are harder than English letters! Most kids don’t learn to write in Greek,” Thalia protested, but Percy just shook his head.

 

“It’s not like I’m writing English. We’re both doing the same thing, Thalia, you’re just worse. Accept it Percy smirked, thinking he had finally beat her at something.

 

She came up with a plan of her own, and a mischevious grin appeared on her face. She stood from the chair, stepping towards him, advancing, closer, closer, ever so close. She pushed him back onto an empty bunk and was straddling him in moments. She leaned down next to his ear, whispering quietly “but I’m better at much, much more.” 

 

Indeed she was. She proved it.


	24. Peanut Butter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia and Percy use the infamous battle cry.

“Oh shit.” Those were Percy’s words while he and Thalia watched a small monster army from their position crouched in the trees. None of the monsters were overly powerful, the most dangerous thing probably being an eight-foot cyclops.

 

“Oh shit’s right,” Thalia muttered back as she pulled out her bow. “You want to grab the hunters, or should I?”

 

“Already done.” Of course. Percy wasn’t even surprised when Artemis hopped onto their branch beside him. The goddess had a habit of appearing out of nowhere to join a conversation and Percy was used to it after many weeks of travelling alongside her. “They’ll be here in a minute.”

 

“Wonderful,” Percy said. “Thalia, highest kills wins?”

 

“Loser takes the other's chores for a week,” Thalia added.

 

“Deal.” They shook hands on it and Percy pulled out Riptide. Artemis chuckled from beside him.

 

“I’m betting on Percy.” Thalia looked offended at that. “I love you, my lieutenant, but Percy  _ is  _ more powerful and a better close combat fighter. Though with long range I would have never picked Percy.”

 

“It isn’t my fault I suck at archery!” Percy complained. Artemis just waved him off.

 

The goddess left to join the newly arrived huntresses and left Percy and Thalia to begin themselves. Percy held up three fingers and Thalia nodded. He took down one, then another, and then closed his fist, leaping off the branch with Thalia seconds behind them. Of course, they couldn’t miss the infamous battle cry that they managed to chorus, a loud scream of peanut butter. The hunters were probably incredibly confused, but they could both hear Artemis laughing. She was ignored.

 

Percy enjoyed himself as he twirled through the mass of beasts, his sword a blur as it slashed through any monster that dared come near. He always enjoyed a good fight, one reason why he liked travelling with the hunt. It took a bit of persuasion from Thalia to let him come along one time, but they became accepting of him, and some he could even consider friends. Artemis was quite enjoyable to be around once you got past the whole ‘I hate you’ problem.

 

There wasn’t any water in the near area, so he was on his own for this. It didn’t bother him, sometimes pure skill was better than any power. The feeling of adrenaline pumping through your veins was exhilarating and such a rush. The hunter's assistance greatly decreased the monster numbers, not that it wasn’t appreciated, and Percy managed to gather up about forty-six kills total.

 

As the final monster was run through with a silver arrow, Percy turned to Thalia, who was panting and covered with golden dust, a few sparks still flying off her body. “Score?” He asked.

 

“Forty-two,” she called, smirking at him. He laughed and Thalia gave him a glare. “Don’t say you beat that.”

 

“Forty-six! Sorry, Pinecone Face,” he grinned. “Have fun feeding the wolves.”

 

Thalia just scowled at him, shrinking her spear and shield back into their hidden forms. Percy capped Riptide and faced the approaching goddess. “Seems you bet right.”

 

“Seems I did,” Artemis agreed. “Care to explain your battle cry? Most warriors do not use ‘peanut butter’ as something to charge into battle for.”

 

Both demigods laughed. “Tyson, my brother, absolutely loves peanut butter, and that was his battle cry. We all just found it so hilarious that we adopted it,” Percy explained.

 

Artemis thought about that. “Strange, I do admit,” she said. “Though it’s quite interesting, and you are right about it being hilarious.”

 

Thalia grinned. “Maybe we can get the hunt to use it too. The fearsome maidens of Artemis, screaming ‘peanut butter’ as they charge into battle!”

 

“Not happening.”


	25. Opposite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Artemis takes a new lieutenant and death votes are cast.

“I will not have them punished,” Artemis said. “I will have them rewarded. If we destroy heroes who do us a great favour, then we are no better than the Titans. If this is Olympian justice, I will have none of it.”

 

“These two children are dangerous!” Athena protested. “One is bound to turn sixteen in two years, and the other  _ tomorrow. _ You cannot want them to live.”

 

“I want them both to live,” Artemis confirmed. “Both are worthy heroes who have done us good. Killing them is no reward.”

 

“You would choose a boy over the council?” Athena growled.

 

“That boy saved your daughter’s life,” Artemis argued. “He has rescued me and gained the favour of my lieutenant, which is more than enough to convince me.”

 

“We kill the daughter of Poseidon and leave my son alone,” Zeus said. “It suits both sides.”   
  


“No, it does not!” Artemis barked. “Do you forget that she brought back your master bolt? Saved your son from eternal demise? Will you kill the one that rescued me?”

 

Zeus thought for a moment, weighing his options. Finally, he said grudgingly “alright. Pacific Jackson and Talon Grace will both live. That is their reward.”

 

“A poor one,” Artemis said. “Which is why I must first make a reward. My faithful companion, Zoë Nightshade, has passed into the stars. I must have a new lieutenant. And I intend to choose one.” Artemis turned and looked towards the two anxious demigods standing in the middle of the room. “If she will accept it.”

 

“No,” Talon muttered, looking at his friend/rival Pacific Jackson. No matter how much they fought, both were as close as could be. Well, not quite, but it was a possibility. That might be ruined in a matter of moments.

 

“Pacific,” Artemis said. “Daughter of Poseidon. Will you join the hunt?”

 

There was silence. Pacific was stunned, her eyes wide, and Talon gripped his hands into fists. There were no words until Pacific spoke her answer. “Yes,” she said quietly, then louder. “I will join the hunt.”

 

“My daughter, consider well-” Poseidon began,  but was bravely interrupted.

 

“No, father,” Pacific said. “I am sure. Besides, this is one way to avoid my sixteenth.” She turned to the son of Zeus, smiling sadly. “Talon is more than worthy and a much better option that I would be. I hand the prophecy down to him.”

 

Pacific turned to Artemis, who slipped down into her human size and beckoned her over. She strode to the goddess, kneeling in front of her and reciting the binding oath. “I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the hunt.” Artemis smiled and waved her hand over the girl’s head. She began to glow a slight silver, signalling her new immortality. Her new unreachability.

 

Talon was unable to get to Pacific for a while until he was finally able to seek her out. She was alone, leaning against a tree a ways away from the party itself. She looked up when Talon approached, her entrancing sea green eyes capturing his electric blue ones, then looked back away. She began to speak. “You know I had to do this. It was the only way.”

 

“It can’t be,” Talon protested. “There must be another way to prolong the prophecy.”

 

“It’s your responsibility to defeat Kronos, not mine,” Pacific said sadly. “I hate to leave you alone to deal with it, but there really isn’t any other way.”

 

“I know!” Talon cried. “I know and I hate it. You’re the only one I’ve ever related to. The only one who understands my struggles as a child of Zeus.”

 

“I feel the same, but Talon, nothing can change this. It’s permanent.” A tear slipped down the girl’s face. “Kill Kronos for me, please. He took away my chance at love.”

 

Talon grasped her hands in his. “I will,” he said. “I swear it on the Styx.”


	26. Spouses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia gets called a scaredy cat.

“Daddy! Guess what happened!” A little girl with shoulder-length black hair sprinted towards Percy, her murky green eyes glistening with excitement, pale hands outstretched towards her father. A wide grin was set upon her face.

 

Percy laughed and scooped her up, holding her in front of him. “Hey, Leigh!” She giggled as he pressed a kiss on her small nose. “What happened?”

 

“Guess!”

 

“Hmm,” Percy hummed, making a dramatic show of thinking. “Did your mother take you somewhere?” She shook her head. “Uncle Jason?”

 

"Yeah!” She said happily. “He took me into the sky. It’s reeeaaally big.”

 

“Did he now?” Percy asked. “He didn’t drop you, did he?”

 

“No,” she said. “But Mommy was worried that he would. She didn’t like me going up.”

 

“Don’t listen to her,” Percy said, setting her back onto the ground. “She’s just a scaredy cat.”

 

“Mommy wouldn’t like that,” she told him. “She would give you sparks.”

 

“What wouldn’t I like?” Percy began to laugh nervously as his wife, Thalia Jackson, entered the room, glaring at her husband.

 

“Well, look at that! Time to go, Leigh,” Percy said quickly, ushering his daughter away.

 

“Don’t you  _ dare  _ Perseus. Huntleigh, why don’t you come to Mommy and tell her what Daddy said,” Thalia said. Percy bit his lip nervously as Huntleigh skipped over to Thalia, wrapping her mother in a hug.

 

“Daddy said you were a scaredy cat for not wanting me to go up,” she said, unaware of what her father would face. Percy paled and tried to sneak out of the room, but electricity arced from Thalia’s hand and latched onto Percy. He yelped, bolting out of the room.

 

“Leigh, stay here for a moment. I’ll be back.” She kissed her daughter on the forehead and stormed after Percy. He was cowering in their shared room, awaiting his punishment. “Do you want to die?”

 

“No! I just don’t want my daughter to be afraid of heights like  _ somebody  _ I know.” Percy knew immediately that wasn’t the right thing to say.

 

“Damn bastard,” Thalia cursed, kicking him in the shin. He winced in pain, putting that leg behind him. “It’s a reasonable fear!”

 

“You can fly, Thals,” Percy protested. “It’s irrational. And if our daughter can fly, too, do you want her to be too scared to try?”

 

“I’d rather her not try then die trying!”   
  


“How about this: We get Jason to train her. If she can fly, he can be with her while she practices. Deal?” Thalia glared at him, but eventually, her gaze wavered, and she just sighed and nodded. Percy pumped his fist and embraced her. “Thank you.”

 

“Welcome. Now, let’s go before our daughter finds a way to blow up the house.”


	27. Chocolate Cake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy and Thalia argue over cakes.

“I don’t care you say, we are not making a cake!” Thalia barked at Percy.

 

He frowned. “Why not? My mom’s got a few lying around here. We could probably do it.”

 

“Percy,” Thalia sighed exasperatedly, “What don’t you understand? We are demigods. Demigods do not cook, for good reason.”

 

“What reason?” Percy questioned, throwing his hands up in the air. “There is no reason that a demigod can’t cook.”

 

“Is the recipe in Greek?”

 

Percy pouted. “We can figure it out. Come on, Thals, it’ll be fine.”

“No, it will not,” she said incredulously. “What don’t you understand about this?”

 

“English plus demigod equals no food?”

 

Thalia just groaned. “No, Percy. I can promise you, something will go wrong.”

“If it does it’s my fault,” he decided. “Please, can we make a chocolate cake?”

 

Thalia glared at the boy for a solid minute before exhaling. “Fine. But if we burn the complex down, we all know who’s fault it is.”

 

“I’ll just put it out. I’m more worried about you killing me,” Percy commented.

 

“And I will if you don’t find a recipe!” He jumped and scrambled off into the kitchen in hopes of finding himself a recipe before Thalia could electrocute him to death.

 

He eventually found one, though it was, of course, in some fancy cursive font that neither teen could read. Thalia wanted to call up Annabeth and ask her, but Percy refused and entirely convinced that they could decipher it. Thalia doubted it, but gave in and agreed. Wouldn’t be her fault. 

 

As it turned out, Thalia was right.


	28. Bubble Wrap Appreciation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia discovers bubble wrap.

Thalia yawned and stretched, her back lifting off the soft mattress. She rolled over, her arms extending, searching, and she opened her eyes in confusion. She was alone. Odd. Usually, he would stay in bed until she woke.

 

No matter. She rolled out of bed, snagging one of Percy’s t-shirts and throwing it on over her sports bra, not bothering to change from her bike shorts. She stumbled out into the main room, which she found Percy sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of a box.

 

“What’cha doing, Kelp Head?” Thalia yawned. He turned around and grinned at her, beckoning her over to his side. Her head cocked in confusion, she trudged over to his side, still a bit bleary. Percy smirked, reaching one hand inside the box and Thalia jumped as she heard a sudden, loud  _ pop.  _ Suddenly awake, she shook her head and glared at Percy. “The fuck was that?”

 

“My mom got a package today,” Percy said gleefully. “It had bubble wrap.” He took two pieces of bubble wrap out of the package, sliding one towards her and beginning to pop the bubbles one by one. She crouched down and picked up the bubble wrap in her hand. It was a sheet of plastic, covered with bubbles of air. She pressed on one and, with a bit of pressure, it popped. She started a bit, and Percy chuckled “What? Never seen bubble wrap before?”

 

“Truthfully, no, I haven’t,” she said, popping another one. It was strangely satisfying. Percy watched her with amusement, how amazed she seemed to be at the wrapping. He really wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t seen bubble wrap before. From what he knew of her past, her mother hadn’t taught her anything, nor had she sent Thalia to school at all. She had taught herself to read and write, and she was incredibly uninformed about a lot of things.

 

“Isn’t it great?” Percy said, popping one of his bubbles. Thalia sat down next to him, setting her bubble wrap on his thigh. 

 

“Stay still,” she said, then she punched his leg. Percy barked in pain and Thalia laughed. All the bubbles in that area had popped in one loud sound. “Yes, it is great. Don’t you think?”   
  


“You’ve just lessened my liking of it,” Percy groaned. “Was that necessary?”

 

“Of course.” Percy sighed, flopping onto his back, his sheet being whisked away. 

 

“That hurt, Thalia, my gods.”

 

“Aw, does the baby need his loving girlfriend to kiss it better?” Thalia mocked in a voice most would use to speak to a toddler.

 

“Yes,” Percy responded, used to the mocking. That was just how Thalia was, and he accepted that there was no changing that. He wouldn’t want to, either. It was one of her defining features.

 

Thalia grinned and lay down on top of him, furiously slamming her lips onto his. Percy pressed back with as much force as he could muster, rolling her over so he hovered over top of her. Thalia laughed into his lips, and Percy pulled back, confused. She slipped out from under him, watching him drop onto the floor and whine at the loss of his lover. “Save it for the bedroom,” Thalia answered, getting to her feet and walking into the kitchen. “Where’s your mom, anyway? I doubt she would want to see that.”

 

“She’s gone. We’d be fine! Come on, Thals, you can’t tease me like that!”

 

“Course I can. Now come eat. Then we can go fuck.”


	29. Puzzle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reminiscing.

Thalia loved Percy. She loved how their bodies fit together, how he would rub their noses and then giggle at his own antics, how loyal he was, and, of course, how good he was at sex. 

 

She thought this over as they lay in bed after a hot session, him still sheathed inside her. Their bodies moulded together beautifully, not a single crevice left between their naked forms. Percy was dozing, stuck between sleep and wake, one hand resting softly on the back of her neck and the other curled around her ass. She herself was still awake, her nose tucked just above his collarbone and her hands idly running over his chest.

 

In truth, she was amazed Percy had chosen her. Annabeth had been strongly pursuing him, and everyone thought he had been as well, but when he turned down her advances she and most of the camp had been astonished. Thalia had quit the huntresses after the war had been won, never really interested in being with them. She liked the idea, but she didn’t hate men, and she didn’t want immortality. All her friends were mortals, she didn’t want to leave them. 

 

It was her that comforted Annabeth and her that confronted Percy. She hadn’t been expecting his reasoning to be a love confession to her out of all people. He had disappeared for months afterwards, both Thalia and Annabeth blaming themselves for his missing. Until Jason Grace turned up and it was revealed that Percy was with the Romans.

 

Thalia had to stay behind while the seven went off, but their reunion was a clash. It was in private, but Percy dared to pick her up and spin her around before kissing her hard on the lips. Thalia was so ecstatic about him that she let him do it without consequence. They made up for their lost time.

 

The relationship was secret for a while, but they did eventually tell Annabeth. She was devastated about it, mad as well, and legged it out of camp to join the huntresses. The couple had gotten her forgiveness, but she was still a bit sour about it.

 

Thalia shifted so that her chin rested on his shoulder, staring at his sleeping face. Even through all the troubles, they had survived and lived long enough to pursue a relationship in the mortal world.

 

She wouldn’t give it up for the world.


	30. Croissant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy has a croissant.

**I say again, these chapters are not all connected. Some may relate to each other but they do not all take part in the same timeline. Thank you for understanding.**

 

“Do you want a croissant?”

 

“Excuse me?” Thalia replied, staring at Percy in confusion. He had come up to the Zeus table in the middle of dinner with a croissant in his hand and was nervously toying with it. He got a few confused looks from surrounding tables but was mostly ignored.

 

“I don’t really want it, so . . .” he shrugged helplessly and held it out to her. She took it from him and examined it carfully. 

 

“And  _ why  _ do you have a croissant?”

 

“Let’s not talk about that,” Percy said quickly, avoiding her gaze. “Go on, eat it!”

 

Thalia narrowed her gaze. “What did you do to it?” She growled.

 

Percy looked fearful. “Nothing! Whyever would you think that?” He laughed nervously, glancing around the pavilion until he caught Nico’s eye and sent him a look that obviously meant ‘help me!’

 

Nico sighed, getting up from his table to join Percy. “What did you do?” He demanded, pointing an accusing finger at Percy.

 

“I gave Thalia a croissant!”

 

Nico seemed taken aback. “You gave her a  _ croissant?”  _ He asked slowly. “Are you serious?”

 

“He did something to it, I know it!” Thalia yelled punching Percy in the arm. The boy winced, rubbing the spot she hit.

 

“Give it to me,” Nico said, holding his hand out. “If something happens, he’s the one getting the worst of it.”

 

“Hold on a minute, Nico,” Percy tried, but the son of Hades had already bitten into the bread. Nothing seemed to happen, but Thalia felt something prodding at her leg. She glanced down to see a skeletal mouse looking up at her, and a few more were gathering.

 

“Um, Nico, why are there undead mice?” Thalia asked.

 

“I didn’t do that,” he responded, and they both looked at Percy.

 

“The croissant may or may not have been infected with something that made your powers go out of control,” Percy said cautiously.

 

“Why?” Thalia questioned. She couldn’t really see the purpose of doing that.

 

“I thought it would be hilarious to see people getting randomly shocked by Thalia,” Percy admitted.

 

“You know what, that does sound hilarious,” Thalia agreed. “And we can just blame it on Percy.” She took the croissant from Nico and bit into the other side.

 

“Wait!” Percy protested, but both demigods were grinning at him. The pavilion was starting to freak out at the hordes of skeleton mice overtaking the space and both Nico and Thalia just retreated out of the area. Percy chased after them, determined to catch his cousins before he was killed by Chiron.

 

All three ended up getting punished.


	31. Backwards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The author accidentally (purposefully) chucks Percy out the door.

She longed for him, there was no doubt about that. She would watch him, happy, in love, living his life, while she was stuck forever alone watching all she knew die slowly around her.

Thalia Grace sat under her pine, watched Percy and Annabeth from her vantage point. He said something, and when Annabeth turned to scold him, he pecked her on the nose and then rolled away, Annabeth shouting playful threats and chasing after him.

Thalia pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face into her knees, silent tears falling. The goddamned prophecy took away her chance at love and goddamn Artemis just had to have a solution and the goddamn world just had to be oblivious to her pain!

She sat there, quietly crying, when she heard the sound of footsteps behind her. She froze, not daring to move, to expose herself to whoever had just stumbled up Half-Blood Hill. She heard someone sit down next to her and set a hand on her shoulder.

“Thalia.” The voice was sweet and calm, like a small girl yet it had an undertone of strength and power. She would know that voice anywhere.

“Mi’Lady,” Thalia managed, trying to make it sound like she hadn’t been crying yet it was useless. Artemis sighed, squeezing her shoulder.

“You know I prefer you to not call me that.”

“You’re a goddess. Isn’t that what you want?” Thalia sniffed, tightening her arms around her legs.

“You’re a friend, Thalia.” Artemis shifted her hand so that it rested lightly on the back of her neck, her thumb brushing softly over the sensitive skin. “My lieutenant. My equal. I do not require such formalities from yourself.”

“I’m sorry.”

Artemis sighed again, curling her arm around Thalia’s shoulders. “There is nothing to apologise for. You have done nothing wrong. Now, why don’t you tell me what has caused you such sadness?”

“It’s nothing,” Thalia immediately said, lifting her head to rest her chin on her knees, keeping her eyes closed.

“Look at me.” Thalia refused, defiantly looking away, but Artemis gripped her chin and forced her to face in her direction. Thalia reluctantly opened her eyes and looked into Artemis’s silvery yellow eyes. The goddess had placed her face merely a few inches away from Thalia’s, seeming to enjoy the close proximity. “Tell me, Thalia.”

Thalia exhaled nervously, tearing her gaze away from Artemis’s and glancing down. Artemis didn’t protest but kept her hand in place, lightly caressing her chin. “It’s Percy,” she admitted.

“The son of Poseidon?” Artemis asked. “What has he done?”

“Nothing,” Thalia replied. “I’m being dumb.”

“Doubtful,” Artemis said. “I have heard many stupid things, and a girl as strong as yourself would not worry over such. I can help, Thalia. I will not shun you.”

“I’m jealous,” Thalia said. “Not of him, but of Annabeth.”

“You love him?”

“No,” Thalia said immediately. “Yes. I don’t know. I have feelings, but I can’t decide what to do with them. Quitting the Hunt over this would be pointless, he would never choose me over Annabeth, but I don’t want all my friends to die while I remain.”

“Love is not foreign to me, Thalia,” Artemis said slowly, shocking Thalia, who looked up wide-eyed at Artemis. The goddess had a sad face of her own. “I once felt such a feeling. I have felt it many times.”

“But . . . you’re a maiden goddess?” Thalia said. “You can’t love.”

“I am not allowed to love,” Artemis corrected. “No one, not even myself, is exempt to the feeling of love. Some just choose to shun it.”

“You hate men,” Thalia protested.

“Women must not always love men,” Artemis countered. “I have had my share of female lovers over the years, though none have stuck. I still believe I can find myself one.” The goddess squeezed her eyes shut, a single tear slipping out. She didn’t bother wiping it away.

Thalia did, though. She softly swept the tear aside and embraced her patron. Both let out their feelings onto the other’s shoulder, savouring the intimacy of being so close.

Thalia finally pulled back, pressing her forehead onto Artemis’s. “Perhaps,” she muttered, locking eyes with Artemis. “We could help each other?”

“I would like that,” Artemis said, giving a watery smile. “I would like that very much.”

Sometimes Thalia wished her life was backwards. Sometimes diving in headfirst was better.


	32. Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Immortality is not a blessing, but a curse.

She knew this was coming. She had known it for decades. It still hadn’t lessened the blow.

 

Thalia Grace was the last remaining of the great heroes, the only one left of their memory. All of the great heroes had a memorial in Central Park, for all to see and remember. The gods had placed it there a few years after their reveal, when Frank Zhang was the first of them dead. His stick had finally reached its limit, it burned along with his first and only mortal home. Hazel had cried for days on end until she eventually found escape from drowning herself in wine.

 

She died three months later from a car crash.

 

Annabeth was next. Her firstborn child was five and she was six months pregnant with a second, but the Jackson family was attacked by a group of anti-god mortals. She died in the attack and her son was left with his legs from the knee-down gone. Percy, of course, was horrified, but he kept thriving, his son Nile the drive.

 

Reyna died in battle. Though she was in her mid-thirties, she had refused to retire. Her mother was war, fighting was in her blood. She was an advisor to the praetors and would accompany major quests. She took her final stand when she had been sent with two other young legionnaires to investigate a sudden monster rise in southern California. They were ambushed, and she died along with another legionnaire while the last managed to make it halfway up the state before his defeat.

 

Everyone else ended up dying of old age, leaving only their children and grandchildren. Thalia wasn’t particularly close to any of them, not even her two nieces, but she felt no need to. They would only pass on later and become a flash in her never-ending loop of immortality.

 

It wasn’t at all what she had been told. All the huntresses said that she would get over it, they would fade into the background eventually. But she didn’t  _ want  _ that. They were too great of people to just be forgotten. Of course, the memorial remained, but Thalia was the last living connection to the great wars. It was painful.

 

She found herself inside the memorial, more like a museum of heroes now. She was in the hall entirely dedicated to the great heroes, herself included. She stared sadly at all the statues, tears threatening to spill. She got especially choked up at her little brother’s sculpture, a small whine escaping her throat.

 

“Mommy, why is the girl sad?” She heard a little boy ask his mother. There was a pause, most likely the mother looking at her.

 

“I don’t know,” his mother replied. “Perhaps something bad has happened.” Thalia looked over her shoulder at the two, the boy in his mother’s arms.

 

The little boy studied her and gasped dramatically. “Mommy! She looks like that lightning statue girl! The one over there!” He pointed to her model. The mother looked at the statue then back at Thalia. Her eyes widened and she shushed her child and scurried away, giving a polite but anxious smile in her direction. Thalia wanted to collapse and cry right there. Why did they all have to be so  _ afraid? _

 

She fled, bolting from the memorial and into the forest in the park. She sprinted blindly, branches scratching her face, leaves getting caught in her hair. The largest lake was in front of her, looming, like the sky had fallen and settled itself there. She knew she shouldn’t touch the water, Poseidon would kill her, but hopefully, she could beat him to it.

 

Freedom comes in the worst of ways.


	33. Groundhog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Huntleigh gets excited.

“Mommy! Mommy! Guess what day it is!” Huntleigh Jackson excitedly tugged at her mother’s shirt, a bright grin on her white face.

 

Thalia crouched low so she was the same height as her daughter. “Well, I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” Thalia asked, giving a smile that only her child could ever receive.

 

“It’s groundhog day! The groundhog’s gonna decide if winters leaving!” Huntleigh was practically bouncing in excitement. “Can we go see the groundhog?”

 

“Sorry, Leigh, but he’s all the way in Pennsylvania. We can’t go there.” Huntleigh pouted, then bolted into the next room yelling for her father.

 

“Percy, you’d better not,” Thalia muttered, following her daughter. She was sitting on Percy’s lap, begging him to take her to Pennsylvania. Thalia glared at him, and his gaze darted wide-eyed between his daughter and his wife.

 

“I mean, there’s probably a way . . .” Percy trailed off as Thalia drew a bolt of electricity from the lightbulb, causing a slight flicker, and twirled it around her finger idly. Percy took a drachma from his pocket and placed it in her hand. “Ask if Aunt Artemis can take you.”

 

Huntleigh grinned and skipped into the bathroom. Once the door was closed, Percy threw his hands up in the air. “What did I do!”

 

“Are you seriously going to let her go and see a groundhog?” Thalia asked.

 

“If Artemis agrees to take her, which she probably will. We both know she adores Leigh way too much.” Thalia glared again. “What? We won’t have to take her!”

 

“Firstly, I don’t trust Artemis not to kill the groundhog.” Percy winced. He knew that was true. “Secondly, is it even legal to watch firsthand?”

 

“I don’t know and I doubt Artemis will care.”

 

Thalia placed her hands on her hips. “And the killing part?”

“She probably wouldn’t do that in front of Leigh!” Percy protested. Thalia raised an eyebrow. “Okay, she might, but come on! Let her have her fun!”

 

“Because ‘fun’ is getting a goddess to commit a crime,” Thalia said sarcastically. “Just what every little girl wants to do.”

 

“Thalia, we aren’t normal, and neither is Leigh. She’s growing up knowing her world and seeing the good parts of it. Is that so bad?”

 

Thalia pursed her lips, too proud to admit that yes, he had a point. Luckily, she was saved by Huntleigh bursting out of the bathroom with a large grin on her face. Thalia sighed. She knew this would happen.

 

“Aunt Artemis said yes!” Huntleigh was bouncing up and down with excitement. “She said she’d come and get me in a few minutes! Hooray!”

 

Thalia was about to question what right Artemis had to make that decision before she felt an immortal presence push into her mind, and most likely Percys from his expression. “If that’s okay with you?”

 

Percy glanced at Thalia, who nodded. “That’s fine. Thank you, Artemis.”

 

“Of course.” The goddess retracted from the connection, leaving the couple with a very energetic child.

 

They managed to keep Huntleigh reined in until they felt Artemis flash in outside the house. Huntleigh seemed to realise this, as she raced to the door, throwing it open and leaping at Artemis. She laughed as the young child latched onto her legs, smiling widely. “Let’s go!”

 

“Why don’t you say goodbye to your parents first?” Artemis looked up at them. “I can keep her for today and tonight, if you’d like.”

 

“That would be nice, thanks,” Percy responded. 

 

Huntleigh waved to her parents and said a quick ‘bye.’ “Can we go now?”

 

Artemis smiled. “Yes, little hunter, we can go.” Artemis smirked at the couple, knowing full well what they would most likely be doing, and teleported away with their kid, leaving them in an empty house until morning.

 

Thalia grinned suggestively at Percy. He returned the expression and they snuck off to the bedroom, allowing themselves some actual pleasure time for the first time in months.

 

Thank the gods for the damn groundhog.


	34. Missing Persons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia finds Percy at Camp Jupiter.

Thalia was worried. Really, the whole camp was worried, but Thalia was probably the one freaking out the most. One, her baby brother had come back from the dead and was actually a Roman demigod. Two, her cousin, her friend, was missing. When she met Jason, he hadn’t had all his memories regained, and so Thalia wasn’t aware that, like Percy, he was the leader of his camp. She didn’t have enough information to connect Jason to Percy, and as such was much more worried than those at Camp Half-Blood. Artemis couldn’t tell her either, with Zeus being paranoid and shutting down Olympus.

Thalia was surprised that Artemis had listened to the command, and was pretty much expecting the dream visit the goddess sent. Thalia was informed that Percy had just entered Camp Jupiter and could reach him maybe a day before the Argo II did, possibly even participate in the battle that was inevitable with a whole army marching towards the Romans. She immediately informed the hunters that they were heading for San Fransisco, and they were off.

Artemis had predicted right. They reached Camp Jupiter just as the Amazons did, taking up places surrounding the army and letting loose. Thalia did her best to fire at the same time as she searched for Percy, and managed to find him. He was the one occupying Polybotes. She cursed him internally and turned her attention to the giant. With him being so, well, giant and unaware of her presence, it was easy to score shots. First in the foot, then the hand, then his cheek. He howled, stumbling to the side.

She noticed Percy sprinting away, and she desperately hoped he had something in mind. She did her best to keep the bane of Poseidon off his feet but he was too strong and batted away most of her arrows. Percy seemed to have a plan established, so she left him to it and fired at the army once again.

She only looked back when Polybotes crumpled into golden dust. Almost all enemies were dead and the archers were picking them off while the legion marched towards Percy, lifting him in the air and chanting loud enough that she could hear ‘Praetor!’ She wasn’t surprised. Percy was practically the embodiment of a perfect leader; for war, at least. 

The hunters joined the rest of Rome and Thalia pushed past the crowds to reach Percy. He was conversing with a large Asian boy and a petite dark-skinned girl. When he spotted her, his face broke out into a grin.

“Thalia!” He moved around the two other teens and hugged her, lifting her off her feet. 

She chuckled, smacking his arm. “Put me down, Kelp Head. Missed you, too.”

He set her down, still smiling like an idiot. “Welcome to New Rome. Since when did the hunters come here?”

“Since never,” Thalia admitted. “Artemis contacted us and told us about the upcoming battle, as well as you being here.”

“Isn’t Olympus closed?” Percy asked.

Thalia snorted. “Yes. You really think Artemis would listen?”

“You have a point,” Percy admitted. “Well, I’m not complaining. It’s good to see a familiar face.” He beckoned the other teens over, who were both standing with confused expressions on their faces.

“Isn’t that a hunter of Diana?” The girl asked slowly.

“You know about them?” Percy questioned.

“We’ve been told about them but never seen them. They were believed to be rumours,” the boy answered.

“That’s because the hunters are Greek,” Percy said. “Meet Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, lieutenant of the hunters. Thals, this is Hazel, daughter of Pluto, and Frank, son of Mars.”

“Nice to meet you,” she said, extending her hand to the teens. “Hope Percy wasn’t too much of an idiot.”

“He was fine,” Hazel responded, still looking confused. She looked to Percy. “You’re friends with the lieutenant of Diana?”

“She was a camper for a year before the hunt,” Percy said. “She doesn’t hate men as much as the rest of the hunters. I find her tolerable.”

“Percy, what are you talking about?” Thalia demanded. “You’re practically friends with the whole hunt. Including Artemis.”

“Artemis is probably the most lighthearted god that there is,” Percy said. “I actually don’t get why everyone’s so afraid of her.”

“She likes you,” Thalia said. “Most males can’t say the same. If she doesn’t like you, you are dead. You’ve seen what she does to people she dislikes.”

“That’s true,” Percy sighed. “Is she planning revenge on me yet?”

“Probably. First, though,” Thalia send a shudder of lightning through her body. “I believe my revenge is in order.”

Percy gulped. He hoped he didn’t die.


	35. Football Hangover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alcohol and demigods do not mix very well.

The first time the hunters lost a game of capture the flag, it was an occasion to celebrate. Percy had gotten scolded and abused by the huntresses for leading the camp’s win, but really, Percy didn’t care that much. They’d be fine. In truth, they probably needed to be knocked down a peg. Artemis didn’t seem very bothered by it, much to his surprise. When she saw him looking at her with a confused expression on his face, she only smirked knowingly and teleported out. Damn that goddess.

The campers celebrated with a party. All the campers under sixteen, with the exception of a few veterans, were dismissed at maybe eleven, while the older campers stayed and Chiron reluctantly allowed them to break out some alcohol for a night as long as nothing happened. Of course, he shouldn’t have trusted them with that. You had to give him some credit, though, he had never allowed demigods to have alcohol, so he couldn’t have known how much it messed with their heads.

Surprisingly, the hunters stayed for the party. Most were tucked in the scowling with a few mingling, such as Thalia, Phoebe, a few other younger huntresses, and Artemis whenever she decided to pop in. Percy tried to encourage the rest of the hunt but they were having none of it. He figured he really shouldn’t push his luck.

It was only when the alcohol was brought out did the older hunters emerge. Percy shared some drinks with them and Percy figured out that demigods couldn’t hold alcohol well. Artemis seemed fine, though her outwards persona slowly dissolved until she didn’t even care that the other demigods saw her acting mortal with her hunters, even leaning on Percy for support whenever someone cracked a joke. The goddess eventually overwhelmed herself and Percy was elected to drag her back to her cabin.

He hung around Thalia for the rest of the night, which proved to be not such a good idea. The hunters kicked them out of the party to go to their cabins, but in their drunken haze, Thalia managed to drag both herself and Percy into the Poseidon cabin. Something probably would’ve happened if they hadn’t exhausted themselves already. Both collapsed into Percy’s bed, neither really aware of the other person beside them.

Thalia woke up with a foggy mind and the worst migraine she’d ever had. She moaned, pressing her forehead into the pillow for a minute before it finally registered that she wasn’t alone. She tried to open her eyes and narrowed them when the light coming from the open window at the back of the cabin momentarily blinded her. The Zeus cabin didn’t have any windows.

Her eyes adjusted and she realised that she was in Percy’s bed with said boy laying next to her. Luckily, both were fully clothed, but they were sort of tangled. Thalia’s face was inches from Percy’s neck, with his arms swung across her and hers loosely gripping his shirt. Their legs were entwined and Thalia’s knee was in a bit of an awkward position. She exhaled slowly, glancing up to look at Percy’s face. He was still asleep. Maybe she could sneak out before he awoke.

Apparently, the universe disagreed. When she rolled out of the bed onto her feet she was struck with a sudden flash of pain in her temples. She let out a soft cry and fell back onto the bed, landing with her head on his stomach. He grunted, shooting awake with a gasp. Thalia clutched her head and groaned, burying her face into his abs.

“Thalia?” Percy rasped. “What happened?” She ignored him, curling in on herself and trying to block out all outside disturbances. “Thals?”

“Shut up,” she grumbled, pressing further into him. He tried to sit up and was struck with the same pain Thalia felt. He was heaving for breath, eyes closed.

“I see what you mean,” he muttered. “Damn, how strong was that alcohol?”

 

“Shut up,” Thalia grunted, stretching herself out into a more comfortable position. “Talking won’t help.”

Percy sighed and tilted his head back, trying to regulate his breathing. Having Thalia half on top of him was soothing but her weight did make it a bit harder to take a large breath. “Could you move,” he croaked. “It’s hard to breathe.” Thalia growled but adjusted, rolling to her left and settling her head on his shoulder, her hot breath tickling his neck.

They lay there for a while, waiting for the headache to at least lessen to a bearable extent. It took quite a bit, their brains not made to handle such strong substances, but it eventually wore off. The ache was still there, and no doubt the pain would come rebounding back once they moved, but right now it was relief. “I’ve got Advil in my dresser,” Percy murmured. “We can grab that.”

“It’ll come back,” Thalia whined. “It feels so nice right now.”

“I know, but it’ll decrease the amount of time we’re spending here.” Percy made to get up but Thalia grabbed his chin, pressing harder into his shoulder. “Come on, Thals.”

“Why can’t we just lay here for the whole day?” Thalia complained, pushing his head back down.

“But the campers are expecting me,” Percy said. “And the hunters are expecting you. You don’t think they won’t come looking for us?”

“I’m comfortable here,” Thalia demanded. “How much harm could it be?” She pressed a kiss to his neck nipping softly, her hand tracing his jaw.

Perhaps she could stay a bit longer.


	36. Shower with a Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Healing Percy takes a turn for the better.

Thalia hauled Percy into the bathroom, almost all of his weight resting on her. She tightened her hold on his waist and pulled him into the shower, dumping him under the showerhead. She twisted the knob, noting that it was a bit cold but she doubted he would mind. 

Percy sighed as the water hit him, the blood washing off his skin and the wounds slowly beginning to close. Thalia moved so she was kneeling between his legs, tilting her face into the spray, feeling the dried blood run off her face. Percy whined as she blocked the flow, edging closer so he could feel the rush of water on his face. 

Sally watched worriedly from the doorway as Percy healed. He would be fine, and so would Thalia once Percy had regained enough strength to heal her. She noted how close they were, but neither had ever shown attraction, so she assumed it was just the want to be cleaned off. Sally closed the door and left the two demigods. A bit of a mistake.

Percy pressed his forehead against her chest, the adrenaline of battle finally starting to wear off. Thalia sat down on her calves, ruffling his hair. He sighed again, his breath tickling her shoulder. She stroked his hair affectionately, relieved to finally be somewhere they could rest and recoup.

Percy cracked an eye open. “Do I need to heal you?” He croaked.

“I’ll be fine,” Thalia murmured. “Take your time.”

“But you’re injured!” Percy protested. He was already in contact with her, so he just willed the water already running down her body to heal any injury it came across. Thalia shuddered at the foreign feeling and pressed her face into his hair. 

“I’m fine,” she muttered after a minute. Percy sagged, exhausted, against her. She wrapped her arms around his tired form, almost ready to fall asleep where she sat, though she knew there were more sensible locations to do that.

“Thalia?” It was faint and much too quiet over the sound of the shower, but still audible.

“Yeah?” She answered, taking her nose out of his hair and setting her chin on his head. “What’s up?”

“Why did Annabeth join the hunters?” Thalia was a bit taken aback by that question. She thought the ex-couple had worked it out. Hadn’t they?

“Didn’t you two agree that it was for the better?” Thalia asked.

“We did, and I’m fine with it, but we had something going. I think that, with time, we could’ve had a future together.” He sounded depressed, like he was not fine with it, but was saying it for the sake of others. He most likely was, knowing Percy.

“Did you love her?”

“I don’t know,” Percy said. “But I know she didn’t love me.”

“Well, I think she was being stupid.” Percy extracted himself from Thalia’s embrace, staring dumbfounded at her face. She smiled. “Stupid for giving up someone as precious and adorable and amazing as you.”

“W-what?” He stuttered. “What are you saying?”

Thalia chuckled and gently took ahold of his face, pecking him on the lips. “I love you, you idiot.”

Percy looked at her wide-eyed and stunned into silence. She . . . loved him? “Seriously?”

“I wouldn’t lie about that,” Thalia said, planting another kiss onto his forehead. “I do. I have for a while.” She kissed him on the lips and Percy hungrily pushed back, wrapping his arms around her neck. Thalia laughed against his lips, pulling back just a bit so she could speak. “Someone’s been missing his attention.”

“Annabeth used to kiss me a lot,” Percy said. “But they never felt . . . real, I guess. That, it felt like an actual kiss. One made from love, not some nonexistent feeling. That was so entirely new, so . . .”

“Enticing,” Thalia murmured. “Delicious.” She nipped at his lower lip, tugging lightly. Percy fully pressed their lips together once again, this time with more vigour. Thalia retracted pressing a kiss on the corner of his lips, on his nose, on his jaw, from there trailing down his neck before biting his collarbone. Percy groaned, gripping her shoulders tightly. “Mine,” she growled, sounding almost feral.

“Someone’s possessive,” Percy remarked.

Thalia bit down harder, causing him more pain and, at the same time, pleasure. “You are mine, Perseus Jackson. Mine.”

He believed it.


	37. Frozen Yogurt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> College is rough.

Thalia groaned as she dragged herself into the dorm room, collapsing onto her side next to Percy. He had been laying with his back propped up against the pillows, glaring angrily at the textbook sitting on his legs. The two had recently gotten into a college and were still only on their second week, but both were already stressed way out of their minds. 

Somehow, the gods (a god, I’m sure we can guess which one) had managed to get them a shared dorm. Percy could’ve sworn that was against almost all college policies, but whatever. Better than sharing a dorm with some stranger he’d never met and would ask about every little scar or weapon or picture of bloodied but happy demigods. And they sure as hell would want to know why most of the money was an ancient form of currency.

“Rough day?” Percy asked, not taking his eyes off of the words that were swirling off the page.

“My gods, yes,” Thalia muttered, shoving her face into the pillows of his bed. “Worse than you think.”

“We’ve got some ice cream in the fridge,” Percy offered. “Pop in a movie with it and I’m sure you’ll feel at least a bit better.”

“Ice cream sounds wonderful,” Thalia moaned. She felt Percy get up off the bed, dropping the textbook onto his desk. He fumbled around in the mini fridge for a second and then shoved her to the side. She rolled over to the opposite side of the bed, sitting up and happily accepting a mini tub of cookies and cream ice cream. Percy handed her a spoon and popped the lid off of his cotton candy ice cream.

“What’cha want to watch?” Percy spoke with his mouth full of ice cream.

“Something that doesn’t remind me of school or the gods,” Thalia responded.

“Well, there’s horror, documentaries, kids movies, and that’s all I can think of,” Percy said. “And you know how much I hate horror.”

“I do,” Thalia mumbled. “I guess just find a kids movie.” Percy dragged the demigod-proof laptop from his bedside table, popping it open and opening Netflix. Thalia shifted closer to him, setting her head on his shoulder to watch him scroll through movies and TV shows.

“Can we watch Hercules?” Percy asked hopefully. “I want to criticise it.”

“That would be fun,” Thalia remarked. “Go for it.”

The biggest thing for Thalia was how inaccurate the Olympian relationships were. Zeus and Hera did not have a healthy relationship, Hades wasn’t that vengeful, no Olympian was blue, and Percy was incredibly offended when Poseidon got literally no screen time.

“We should show this to Heracles,” Thalia yawned. “He would love it.”

“He would hate us for eternity,” Percy answered. 

“As if he doesn’t already. Besides, what’s the harm in pissing the bastard off a bit more?” Thalia tempted.

Percy sighed. “Fine. Friday, we snag Artemis and hope she agrees.”

“Oh, she’ll agree, don’t you worry.”


	38. Send a Card to a Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Letters of war.

**Yes, this is book one in a quintet. There’s a reason it’s split into five books, which you’ll find out when the second comes.**

 

_ Hey Thals, _

 

_ Not sure if you know this, since Olympus is closed, but Zeus blocked all use of IMs. So, we’re resorting to this. The messenger pegasus will stay with you until you send something back, and I’m sure you could use those hawks of yours to send a letter.  _

 

_ Anyways, just wanted to tell you that the hunters are always welcome at camp if the war gets to be too much. We don’t know anything about the Romans, and they could easily have a group similar to the Hunt. Who knows how much power they have. You’ll probably say that ‘the hunt is too strong to give in’ or some confident shit like that, but don’t overestimate yourself. It will have consequences. _

 

_ Hope to see you soon, _

 

_ Percy _

 

* * *

 

_ Thanks for the warning, but it isn’t overconfidence. It’s knowing our limits. I know you’re worried, and have every right to be. But please, have trust that we’ll be fine. We’re not called the elite force for no reason. I have more reason to be worried about you. Don’t go sacrificing yourself. Don’t give your life for another. I’m not saying this because of selfishness, but you’re our most powerful asset. Losing you could possibly lose the whole war for us. _

 

_ So, do you know  _ why  _ Zeus cancelled IMs? I mean, I know the Romans might have it, but he’s not only blocking off their access, but also ours. For all we know, they’re better at working with no IMs than with them. They could not even know of IMs. He should at least let us look into it. Please, if you could, send a complaint or something. From the both of us. _

 

_ Are you planning on sending out spies? Because we can easily do that, probably better than a camper could. I know you don’t want to risk any lives, but this is war, Percy. Risks must be taken. _

 

_ Don’t let your fatal flaw get the better of you. _

 

_ Thalia _

 

* * *

 

_ Pinecone Face, _

 

_ You know I can’t help but be overly loyal, so please, stop trying. I don’t want you to send any hunters, but it really is probably for the best. Make sure you have a good strategy and someone good at stealth. Perhaps try and get into their camp? They are demigods, they may or may not be able to tell the difference. Not like I would know. _

 

_ And Thalia? Please, please, don’t test your limits. I know you said you knew them, but the hunt has never had an actual fight with demigods, much less ones we don’t know anything about. Don’t test yourself, or the hunt. If you still disagree, think about your hunters. Do you want them risking their lives? _

 

_ Sorry, I can’t send in complaints.  _

 

_ Kelp Head _

 

* * *

 

_ Percy, _

 

_ I heard that Dionysus is back at camp, and Artemis is back here. Not sure if Dionysus would tell you much, but Artemis said that she and him are allowed because the Romans apparently have two gods that work with the demigods as their job, and Zeus decided to ‘even the playing field.’ Don’t take it as complaining. _

 

_ So, Artemis said that the goddess of Rome, Lupa, is one of her best friends. Lupa’s a wolf goddess who trains Roman demigods and sends them to Camp Jupiter, the Roman camp, with a letter of recognition or some shit like that. She refuses to give us a copy, as she would like to retain her friendship with Lupa, but we’re going to try and snag one from a newly released demigod and either forge one or use the one we got, depending on the information contained. _

 

_ I know you’re still worrying. Stop it. _

 

_ Thalia _

 

* * *

 

_ I’m sorry, I can’t help it! You’re one of my greatest and most trusted friends, losing you would break my heart. Take my words seriously. I mean it. _

 

_ That’s great news! I do think it’s a bit unfair that they have a minor god (and most likely another) while we have two Olympians, but Dionysus is kind of useless. Artemis does give us one hell of an advantage though. Tell her Camp sends its thanks. _

 

_ Try and get someone into Camp Jupiter as soon as possible. We need as much of a head start as we can get. The Romans could already have a spy in camp and we wouldn’t know it, though no new camper has arrived since the start of this war, so that’s kind of a dumb analogy. Doesn’t mean we aren’t being watched. _

 

_ Stay safe, _

 

_ Percy _

 

* * *

 

_ We’ve got a letter from Lupa, though it’s in Latin and none of us can read it. We did get it from a girl, though, so as long as no names or appearance details are listed, we should be good. I’m going to go in myself since I’m technically the closest to the teenage and they’re less likely to question a daughter of Zeus, well, Jupiter, than a daughter of, say, Hermes. Don’t send any responses until I send another letter, since we’ve got no idea if the Romans allow letters or any sort of information like that. _

 

_ Don’t yell at me. This is for the best. Keep safe. _

 

_ Thalia _

 

* * *

 

_ Alright, we’re good. Make sure to inform the Pegasus that it should come only at night, landing in the surrounding hills. I’ll find it.  _

 

_ Percy . . . do you remember when I told you about my little brother? The one who was taken by Hera? He’s here. Jason Grace, Praetor of New Rome. I haven’t told him, and he hasn’t made the connection, but he’s  _ here!  _ I’ve found him! This really discourages me from the war. I can’t fight my little brother! _

 

_ But I do have some information. The forces are made up of two parts: The legionnaires and the veterans. The legionnaires are the teens, the ones still in their prime years, while the Veterans are retired demigods. They have a whole city here, where demigods can start families and live safely, even go to college! It’s amazing! _

 

_ Anyways, the legion has five cohorts, numbered from worst to best. There’s two praetors, an augur, ten centurions and a senate. This is so much more advanced than we thought it was. They even have a war elephant. _

 

_ I’m worried, Percy. We might not survive this one. _

 

_ Thalia _


	39. Iowa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia heals Percy.

**Please do not mistake the last chapter as this book being complete. We still have thrirty-three chapters to go.**

Wind in his face. The rush of flying. Pain. Blood. Going down. Crash. Leaves scratching. A horse’s scream. Numbness. Black.

Thalia led the hunt towards a spot in eastern Iowa where there had just been a flare of power but a few hours ago. She had her bow in hand as they approached the area, ready to find a large band of monsters or perhaps one of the ancient creatures. But no, Thalia was so startled she dropped her bow when she pushed past the brush and saw Percy Jackson lying on the ground, bloodied and bruised, yet alive.

“Stop!” Thalia yelled to the hunters spread out behind her, falling to the ground next to her friend. She felt his pulse; alive, but barely. There was an arrow embedded in his back along with multiple long scratches down the side of his torso. “Bela!”

Belaflore was a daughter of Apollo from the mid-fifteenth century, living in Italy until she lost her family in the Renaissance. She was the hunt’s best healer and would know what to do to help Percy.

“Yes, Lieutenant?” Bela said with a soft voice. “What have you found?”

“Come out here!” Thalia barked, not caring if she sounded angry or annoyed. One of her best friends, pretty much the only one who knew what she went through, was dying in front of her. Why should she fucking care about kindness? “Now!”

Bela emerged cautiously and gasped when she saw Percy. Bela looked at Thalia for permission, which was immediately granted, and rushed to the boy’s side. “Monster,” she muttered. “Something that could shoot a bow and leave claw marks. Perhaps a werewolf, or maybe even Echidna herself. A sphinx could possibly draw a bow, I’m not sure.”

“I don’t care what did this, heal him!” Thalia snapped. The rest of the hunt was emerging from the trees, watching the scene with confusion. Bela complied, breaking off the arrowhead and giving Thalia a cloth.

“Press on the wound,” Bela said and slowly began to ease the projectile out of his back. When it came out, Thalia immediately applied pressure with the cloth. Percy groaned, shifting slightly, but Bela held him down. “Stay still, hero,” she muttered. Being one of the few who didn’t hate men, she was probably the kindest of the hunters. “Let us lessen your pain.”

Percy stayed still, partially awake but not really aware of his surroundings. Bela used her powers of healing to close up all the wounds to the best of her abilities, focusing most on the arrow wound. She motioned to Thalia and the lieutenant removed the pressure. The injury was mostly closed, with just a small flow of blood leaking out. Bela ignored it.

“Get him some ambrosia and nectar,” Bela commanded. Thalia held her hand out behind her and someone took out a bag of ambrosia squares along with a vial of nectar, placing them in her hand. She eased his head into her lap, pouring the nectar bit by bit into his mouth. He managed to swallow small amounts but did better as more of the godly liquid entered his body. Eventually, Thalia gave him an ambrosia square and he ate it himself, sighing as it fully closed the arrow wound and reduced his claw marks.

“My gods, Percy, what happened?” Thalia murmured, running her hands through his hair. Percy tried to choke out words but only coughed up blood, leaning away as to get most of it onto the grass (though some did land on her, not that she minded much).

“Set up camp here,” Thalia called. The hunt went to work around the trio as they sat on the forest floor. Percy was moved into the medical tent once it was up and left there to rest.

The hunt stayed there for two days as Percy healed. Thalia was the first to figure out that this would go a lot quicker if they used water and lessened the healing time by maybe sixty percent.

He informed the hunt on the night of his second day what had happened. Apparently, on his way back to Camp Half Blood from Camp Jupiter, he had been hit in the sky and fell off his pegasus. He could guess that the monster had scratched him after he passed out in an attempt to kill him but the pegasus, who happened to be his loyal companion Blackjack, had saved him. There really was no other plausible story, so it was agreed with.

The hunt escorted him back to Camp Half Blood, moving at a slower pace than usual. It annoyed most of the huntresses but they all liked Percy enough to manage. He had earned their respect, it wasn’t his fault no one had trained him on stamina or speed. Thalia figured she would have to do that at some point.

They arrived at Camp Half Blood a week after Percy had healed up. The campers were astounded when their hero arrived with a group of man-hating hunters, at the head alongside the lieutenant. The veterans laughed at him, not at all surprised with him. The hunters had always respected him, it wasn’t very shocking that they all got along. Thalia probably had a part in that.

Percy hugged Thalia tightly before the hunt departed. “I enjoyed this past week,” he said to her.

“As did I,” Thalia responded, hugging back. “You might have to come back sometime. I’m sure the hunt wouldn’t mind.”

Percy smiled. “I’d love that.”


	40. Pizza

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stolen food leads to unusual things.

It was cold. Not a surprise, since it was mid-February, but the cold could be unbearable without proper clothing. Thalia Grace hugged herself, shivering, with a small golden-haired girl tucked into her side. Their third companion was scrounging the dumpsters, his short blonde hair reflecting in the moonlight.

The boy’s face broke into a grin and he pulled out a box of pizza, shaking it a bit to find that it was maybe half full. Thalia copied his expression, nudging the girl by her side and gesturing towards the boy. He was walking back now, and a long scar was now visible, going from his eye to the corner of his lip.

The little girl gasped. “Is that pizza?” She said excitedly, her voice quiet.

The boy grinned. “See for yourself, Annie.” he set the box in front of her and opened it. Her face lit up when she saw the treat in the box. It was maybe a day old at most, which was good enough for them.

“Can we eat it?” Annie asked. “Please, Luke, can we?”

Luke smiled at her. “Of course. Take as many as you want.”

“Leave some for me, squirt,” Thalia chuckled when Annie piled three pieces in front of her. “We’re all hungry.”

“Don’t call me squirt!” Annie complained. “My name’s Annabeth!”

“‘Course, squirt,” Thalia replied, laughing. Annabeth pouted, but there was happiness in her eyes. She reluctantly placed two back into the box. Annabeth bit into one of the pieces, almost moaning with how good it was. Thalia and Luke both took one, savouring the flavour. They sat, enjoying their treat, at least for a little bit.

Thalia heard footsteps and she turned to look, but someone had already bolted past, scooping up the pizza box in his or her mad dash. “Hey!” Luke barked, annoyed about how their pizza had just been snagged. “Give that back, you asshole!”

Thalia shot off after the stranger, her slimmer body granting more speed and agility. The person was obviously a boy, most likely around her age, definitely not a teenager yet. He had black, almost purple hair that was messy and tangled, with his clothes barely hanging onto his unusually skinny form. This was certainly a fellow runaway.

Thalia gained on him slowly, neither caring much for the stares they got from the few people that were actually out on Chicago streets. Thalia was soon right on his heels, reaching out to hook onto his shirt. She gripped the fabric and was surprised when it ripped under her strength. The damage had been done, though. He tripped and toppled, the box sent flying.

Thalia immediately had him pinned. “Who are you to steal from people in need?” She snarled. The boy whimpered, unable to get up with her straddling his waist. She had his wrists restrained above his head and he doubted his legs could to much damage. “Answer me, you bastard!”

“I-I’m sorry,” he stuttered. His sea green eyes were filled with anxiety and fear for his life. This girl was fierce. “I was hungry, I’m s-so sorry, pl-lease just let m-me go!”

Thalia then took notice of the fact that he was not just naturally skinny, but so much that his ribs were clear even through his shirt. The skin on his face was stretched out and his collarbone jutted out much more than should be possible. “How long has it been since you last ate?” Thalia questioned, loosening her hold on his wrists but not letting go.

The boy was quiet for a moment. “M-maybe fi-five days? It-it’s hard t-to keep tr-track.” She gaped at him, her hands fully unclenching. “I can l-leave if you wan-want.”

“No, don’t,” Thalia said. “What’s your name?”

“Percy,” he rasped. “I’m ‘leven.”

“Come with me,” she said. “Bring the pizza.” Percy picked up the box and stumbled behind her. She saw Luke leading Annabeth by the hand in their direction and walked faster. Percy sucked in a breath, increasing pace to stay with her.

“Thalia!” Luke shouted when they were maybe ten feet away. “What are you doing?”

“Let me explain,” Thalia said, meeting in the middle. Percy looked down, shivering harshly. “This is Percy. He’s eleven years old.”

“So what?” Luke snarled. “He stole what was ours!”

“Look at him,” Thalia pleaded. “Tell me he doesn’t look deathly?” Luke took one long look at him, Annabeth watching from behind his legs.

“So he does,” Luke said hardly. “What of it?”

“Can’t we share with him?” Thalia begged. “At least give him a slice.”

“No, Thalia,” Luke growled. “That’s final. Come on.” He turned and gripped Annabeth’s shoulder, leading her back.

Thalia turned to Percy. “Stay here,” she said quietly. “Trust me.” Percy nodded. He didn’t have any better options. 

Thalia returned to her companions. “Finish your slice,” Luke told her. “We’ll save the rest.” She did, slowly, her mind still on the poor kid she had left on the sidewalk. “I’ll take first watch.”

“Let me,” Thalia said. “I need to wear off the adrenaline.” Luke nodded, settling against the concrete wall with Annabeth curling up in his lap. Thalia waited until they both were asleep before taking two of the four remaining slices and leaving the passway.

She moved as quickly and quietly as she could back to Percy. He looked up at her with wide eyes, then at the pizza, and she swore his eyes got bigger. “It’s yours,” she said. “Take it.”

“But . . . you’ll get in trouble,” Percy whispered. “I can’t accept this.”

“You need it. I’m not taking it back.” He furrowed his eyebrows. “I’ll take whatever punishment.”

Percy looked at her graciously. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. “No one’s ever given me anything.”

Thalia’s heart broke. She swore she wouldn’t leave this poor child here alone.

Not on her life.


	41. Umbrella

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy and his friends stumble upon something.

Percy was a fairly popular guy at his school. It wasn’t really a surprise; he had the muscles, he had the attractiveness, he had the personality. Some guys hated him for those facts, but he was mostly adored by his peers.

It was the last day of school before spring break. Percy was walking back to his apartment with three of his closest friends. Michael, a typical comedic teenager; Eddison, a laid-back athletic; and then Blaine, who was an active nature conservationist. An odd group, but they got along well. They would never be close to his camp friends, who had gone through wars with him, but they were friends nonetheless.

Of course, being spring, it was raining. Hard. The three boys all had an umbrella that they were huddled under, while Percy walked happily in the open, a large smile on his face.

“You sure you don’t want under here, Perce?” Eddison asked.

“Nah, I’m good. You know I like the rain,” Percy replied, purposely letting himself get soaked. He did keep his shoes dry, though; wet socks were never comfortable.

“Hey guys, look ahead,” Blaine suddenly said. They all looked up ahead and noticed someone, gender indistinguishable with the weather, stumbling up onto the sidewalk, head down. His legs gave out, and he slammed his hand into the wall to keep himself upright. He did not look very good.

“Stay here,” Percy said. “I’ll go check it out.”

“Woah, dude, wait!” Eddison called, but Percy was already jogging towards the figure. As he got closer, he began to recognise certain features. Black, spiky hair, now drooping down from the water. A tattered silver hunters outfit, with a silver circlet on his, no, her, head. 

Percy bolted towards his friend. “Thalia, are you okay?” He burst out once he was within ten feet of her. She looked up sharply, electric blue eyes locking onto his. She sighed, leaning her forehead against the brick wall without answering. Percy moved the rest of the way towards her, taking her weight in his arms and sinking to the ground, letting her rest against him. He dried her off and kept her that way, letting himself dry as well. “Come on, Thals, tell me something.”

“Monsters,” she gasped. “Too many.”

“Where did the hunters go?” He asked. “Shouldn’t they be caring for you?”

“Chased me out,” she panted. “Running for hours.” 

“Oh, gods, you shouldn’t have let them do this,” Percy said worriedly. She just groaned, dropping her head onto his shoulder and closing her eyes. It was then that his three companions caught up.

“Percy, what the hell?” Michael said. “Who’s this?”

Thalia cracked her eyes open, shifting so she could see around his neck. “Leave,” she moaned, head falling back to its spot. “Please.”

“She sounds horrible. What happened to her?” Eddison asked.

“And how is she still dry?” Michael added. “How are you still dry?” He then remembered the fact that there was, in fact, water around, and he could heal her with it. He discretely ran the water up her body, making sure it stayed on the opposite side of her than what his friends could see. She exhaled a relieved breath when her wounds slowly began to close. 

“Doesn’t matter,” Percy said. “You can either leave or come with me. We’re going to my place.” He dropped the water off her and lifted Thalia bridal-style and took off towards his apartment at a fast walk. She sucked in a breath at the sudden movement, her eyelids fluttering. “Hold on, Thals,” he muttered softly. She tapped his chest to show she heard.

“Slow down dude!” Eddison called. “You don’t even know her.”

Percy stopped and turned towards his friends, the panic in his face clearly expressed. “You don’t know anything,” he said, unintentionally ominous, before continuing at the same pace. The three exchanged glances but didn’t say anything.

They reached Percy’s place uninterrupted. Percy rapped his knuckles on the door with force, Thalia’s weight limiting his strength. Blaine took the umbrella and closed it as his mother opened the door. Her eyes widened when she saw Thalia. “Come in!” Sally said. “All of you.”

They all entered. Percy headed straight towards the couch, lowering Thalia onto the cushion. Sally closed the door behind the mortals, rushing over to Percy. “What happened?” She asked.

“What do you think?” Percy responded. “Monsters.”

“Thalia, dear, are you okay?”

The daughter of Zeus whimpered out “I’m fine.”

Sally frowned. “Obviously not. Percy, grab the first-aid kit and a cup of water.”

He hesitated. “Hold on, but my friends-” Sally glared at him, not caring if the mortals saw. Thalia’s wellbeing was more important. Percy did as she said.

“Sally, who is this? Percy refused to say,” Michael asked.

“A good friend of Percy’s,” Sally answered. “They’ve known each other for around five years and have been through much together.”

“Like what?” Blaine questioned. 

“It’s not my place to say,” Sally responded. Percy entered the room with a white box and a large bowl of water, using his powers to keep it from spilling. He handed his mother the kit and placed the bowl on the table beside the couch.

“What’s the water for?” Michael asked. Nobody answered, but he soon saw its purpose. Percy placed his hand on Thalia’s stomach, where the biggest wound was. The water lifted from its place, whisking over to Percy’s hand. It spread itself out over all her wounds, slowly closing them as much as they could. Of course, though, he could only do so much. Almost all the smaller wounds disappeared, though the large stab wound in her stomach remained half open.

Percy drew back and watched his mother work on Thalia’s stomach. He sat beside her head and combed his hands through her hair, leaning his forehead against the couch. Using his powers to that extent would still drain him more than he liked.

“What the hell did you just do?” Eddison muttered quietly. Percy looked up at him.

“There’s a lot you don’t know,” Percy said. “More than a lot. You don’t know me at all.”

“What do you mean?” Michael asked. “We’ve known you for years. You’re our best friend.”

“Still,” Percy said. “As much as I hate to say it, all my friends at the camp I’ve told you about? They are closer to me than any of you can ever be.” All three looked hurt.

“How?” Michale said. “What could they know that we don’t?”

Percy’s eyes flashed dangerously. He snapped. “I have fought alongside all of them, every single one, and have seen more than most people would in a century. I’ve seen war, I’ve seen suffering, I’ve seen countless people sacrifice themselves for me, for my family, and I have faced death myself.” He was yelling now, eyes flaming. Thalia looked up at him with happiness that he had stood up for himself. For her. For demigods.

“Seriously?” Eddison said, laughing nervously. “That’s impossible.”

“It’s true,” Thalia rasped. “Not like you mortals would know.”

“Thalia,” Percy pleaded. “They shouldn’t know.”

“You’re right,” she said. “They shouldn’t. But we shouldn’t have to experience it.” Percy was silent. “You know I’m right. No teenager should have to do what we do. Be the heroes. Be the only ones that know.”

“It’s too hard,” Percy said quietly. “Too hard. Knowing that so many have died for this. So many will die. Most of us never even make it to this age.”

Thalia grasped his hand. “Be thankful that we did,” she told him. “Be thankful that we still live. They’re happy, Percy. Don’t take their sacrifice away. They died for a good cause.”

Percy squeezed her hand tightly. She was right. But it was painful to know that no one could ever understand.


	42. Make a Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy gets rescued.

Seven-year-old Percy stumbled over the New York borders into Pennsylvania, gasping for breath. Three large dogs the size of a small bus bounded after him, slavering and drooling as their glowing red eyes craved his blood. The boy was crying, the tears whipping off his face as soon as they appeared. He was tired and sweaty and bloody and about to collapse.

Just ahead, the young boy noticed a small cabin situated in the middle of nowhere. He ran over to it, bursting through the door and collapsing onto the wooden floor sobbing. He heard footsteps from inside the house, running over to him and then pausing. He heard shuffling, then the twang of a bow and a yelp from one of the dogs. Two more twangs, two more yelps, and there was silence.

He felt a hand touch between his shoulders and he flinched. “Hey, hey, it’s okay,” a soft feminine voice spoke. Percy glanced up at her with watery eyes. She had black hair that was cut like a mans, obviously done by herself in an attempt to give the hair a more spikey look. Her eyes were a bright electric blue, shining with pity. There was a large wooden bow slung across her back. “What’s your name?”

“Percy,” he said. “My name’s Perseus but don’t call me that.”

“Alright, Percy,” she said. “Do you know why those dogs were chasing you?”

“No!” He cried. “I was running and all of the sudden they were on me and all I could do was run and run and run. No stopping. Never stopping.”

“Woah, you’re fine, they’re gone,” she said reassuringly. “My name’s Thalia. I’m like you.”

“Like me?” He asked. “What do you mean?”

“Those dogs were chasing you because of what you are,” she said. “You and me, we aren’t mortal. Those monsters want all of our kind gone and so they hunt us down. That’s why we must learn to defend ourselves.”

“What are we?” Percy asked, confused. He had never known there was a thing other than a person.

“We’re what's called demigods,” Thalia said. “Half mortal, half god.”

“God!” Percy gasped. “Like the God with the angels and the Devil?”

“No, not him,” Thalia said. “The Greek gods. Zeus, Hera, Poseidon. When you were growing up, did you have both parents?” 

“Yeah,” he said. “My mommy and Smelly Gabe.”

“Was Gabe your real dad?” Thalia prodded.

Percy frowned. “No. Mommy married him when I was three. She said it was to protect me.”

“What happened to your mother?” Thalia pushed.

Percy suddenly began to weep. “Smelly Gabe!” He cried. “He-he ripped her clothes and did something and then stabbed her and it was horrible and he almost killed me and I had to run!”

Thalia hugged the small child. “I know,” she said. “I know.”

“You do?” Percy whimpered.

“I do,” she confirmed. “I used to have a little brother. Five years ago, when I was seven, like you, and Jason, my brother, was two.” Thalia sniffled but didn’t stop. “My mother hated me. She didn’t care for either of us and I had to take care of my brother. One day, she took us on a picnic and I left for a moment. When I came back, my brother was dead and my mother didn’t even care. I ran away, just like you did.”

“I’m sorry,” Percy said. “Was your brother nice?”

“Very,” Thalia said. “He was a lot like you.”

“Really?” Percy brightened. “You think so?”

“I do!” She chuckled through her tears. “You would even be the same age as him.”

Percy’s eyes widened and he gasped dramatically. “I’m like your brother!”

“You could be,” Thalia said. “I’ve lived here alone for such a long time. Having someone else with me would be a nice change.”

“You want me to stay with you?” Percy asked. “Really?”

“Really,” Thalia affirmed. “Do you want to?”

“Yes!” Percy shouted, squeezing her as tightly as his little arms could.

Perhaps this was her second chance.


	43. Plum Pudding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia wears herself out.

They were losing. Thalia watched with despair as the campers of Camp Half-Blood fought, cutting down monsters by the minute only to be slaughtered themselves. Her hands shook to the extent where she couldn’t aim her bow correctly, and she swore a tear trickled down her cheek.

She could see Percy, the water following him and lashing out like a thousand whips. Nico was further away, an army of skeletal warriors and predators fighting behind him. Both demigods were being overwhelmed. She had to do something.

“Stay here,” Thalia told Phoebe, who nodded and kept shooting. Thalia dropped her bow and quiver onto the ground, took out her spear and Aegis, then charged into the fray.

She fought with a ferociousness she never had before. Her powers would be useful in these circumstances if other demigods weren’t within the danger zone, so she had to restrain her power. Thalia couldn’t tell if she was making any dent in the army, but she liked to believe she was helping.

A sudden call of “retreat!” from up ahead sounded out. The demigods began to back off, racing towards the camp borders. She saw the hunters beckoning her, urging her to come. Percy was shouting at her, telling her she had to retreat. Annabeth was sobbing, the situation all too familiar to her.

Thalia turned around and braced herself for the monsters. She heard yells and screams behind her, but she ignored it. She could feel her energy dancing inside her, begging to be let out. She set it free, letting it roar through her veins and consume her body. Sparks flickered off of her skin and a roll of thunder shook the earth. She watched the monsters approach. She could feel wind swirling around her, lifting her slightly off her feet.

The newfound power amazed her, but she didn’t let her amazement take ahold of her and used it. She pushed the wind towards the centre of the army and within seconds she was there. Power rolled off of her, and she let loose. Electricity surged through her body, overwhelming her and coursing through every part of her body. The feeling was unreal, out of this world, and it was too much. She blacked out.

Percy watched wide-eyed at the show Thalia put on. First, she had flown, flown, above the heads of the monsters, then all hell broke loose. Thousands of bolts of lightning billowed from the skies, all hitting her body. There was a loud boom and then Zeus’s power broke away from its collar. All the raw power exploded. The monsters shrieked and howled through the blinding light of crude electricity, being enveloped in a flash so great that a shockwave rolled off, blowing the demigods back.

The son of Poseidon shook off his daze in time to see the storm and the monsters gone and Thalia’s body falling to the ground. He screamed silently, the ground cracking beneath his feet. He summoned a large rift in the ground from which water poured, water that caught the immobile girl in its embrace.

Thalia was swept towards him and he raced out to meet it, letting the water dispell and catching her in his arms. She was passed out, her body shivering and occasionally rippling with the still-present lightning. He frantically pressed two fingers to her wrist. He sighed in relief. A pulse.

“My gods! Is she okay!” He heard Annabeth shout from behind him. He turned to see the demigod forces standing there, watching as Percy cradled the person who had just destroyed hundreds, if not thousands of monsters with a single godly blast. “Please tell me she’s okay!”

“Thalia is fine,” Percy reassured her. “She’s alive.” Annabeth sighed and the demigods cheered, their roar being heard for a long distance. 

Thalia was rushed to the infirmary, where they were told she had just emptied her energy reserve and needed rest to build it back up to a healthy level. After she was placed in the Poseidon cabin, the only other cabin with beds that wasn’t mostly full, either Percy or Annabeth was almost always in there with her, watching over her to see if she would wake. 

Percy was curled up in the chair situated next to Thalia’s bed one night near midnight, still half awake. Neither he nor Annabeth had gotten much sleep since the battle, and Percy still refused to succumb. He was losing the battle until he heard a sudden cough from the bed.

He shot up scrambling to grasp onto the bed. “Thalia!” He gasped, focusing on her form as she slowly came into consciousness. “You’re awake!”

“Yeah,” she said hoarsely. “Still tired though. How long was I asleep?”

“Four days,” Percy responded. “We’ve been worried. What you did was amazing but risky. Not that we aren’t thankful, but you shouldn’t risk yourself like that.”

“If it means all of your safety, I will,” she answered. “I can tell you’ve been worrying. You look like you haven’t slept since. I feel like I haven’t slept since.” She yawned as if to prove her point.

“That’s because I haven’t,” Percy muttered. Thalia looked at him with irritation.

“Percy, you shouldn’t have.” He looked about to protest, but Thalia interrupted. “No, no, you need sleep. You will sleep. Now.”

“But you’re awake now. How can I?” He answered.

Thalia scowled at him. “I’m sleeping whether you do or not, so either sit around in silence while I sleep, perfectly safe, or actually get some rest.”

Percy sighed. “Fine.” He moved to get up, but Thalia grasped his hand. He turned to look at her with confusion.

“Stay here,” she said. “Sleep here.”

He looked shocked. “Wouldn’t that make you uncomfortable?” He said. “I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable, not after what happened, I’m okay with sleeping on another bed-”

“Percy, you’re rambling,” Thalia stated. He blushed. “I’m fine with it. Truthfully, I want to know that I’m not alone here. Please, stay here.” Percy gazed into her eyes and couldn’t find the heart to say no.

He climbed into the bed, settling on the opposite side of the pillow that she was. She surprised him even more when she scooted closer, tucking her face into his chest and tangling their legs together. He hesitated before slowly wrapping his arms around her, tugging her slightly closer. She sighed with content.

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.


	44. Cheddar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia becomes Percy's heroine.

“Well, Jackson? Got any money?”

“Not for your hands,” Percy replied civilly, managing to contain the annoyed sigh that threatened to break out. High School was okay, except for those people who felt the need to boot him off the charts and have him be a slave. He could mostly avoid any confrontations, but sometimes it was inevitable.

The ringleader, Derrin, scowled. “Of course it’s for my hands. Give it over, coward, and I won’t beat you too hard.”

Percy scoffed. “Like you could do any damage.”

“I could do more than you,” Derrin bragged.

Percy rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Go fuck yourself,” he said calmly, beginning to walk away from the scene. Two of Derrin’s friends grasped his shoulders, yanking him back. Percy grit his teeth and turned toward his abuser. As easy as it would be to snap his neck, Percy knew that his mother and Chiron would disprove of any form of harm. Though, perhaps they could make an exception. “What the hell do you want?”

“I want your money. Hand it over before I make you,” Derrin growled. Percy smirked, taking two drachmas and placing them in his open palm. He looked at the coins perplexed for a moment and then his face twisted into a snarl. “What is this?”

“That is a drachma,” Percy said. “It’s money.”

“Not American money!” Derrin barked. “I can’t use this!”

“Then give it back,” Percy said. “Because I can.”

“If you can use it, then I think I’ll keep it,” Derrin said, the arrogant quirk of his lips showing that he enjoyed the pain he thought he was inflicting. “Now give me some normal money.”

“Sorry, I use drachmas. Apparently, we don’t have the same culture,” Percy remarked, a sparkle of amusement in his eyes when he said culture. As if. This wasn’t culture, it was heritage.

“What culture uses some unamerican money?” Derrin snapped. Percy grinned cheekily and pointed at himself.

Derrin grabbed Percy by the collar and yanked the demigod forward. “Stop this,” Derrin scolded. “Just give me your money and-”

Swoosh. Derrin froze and touched the back of his head, where a lock of hair had been cut off. Percy looked at the wall to his right, then to his left, and a wide grin set itself on his face. Derrin looked at the wall and gaped when he saw that the thing that had missed his head my centimetres was a knife. His head whipped to the direction it had come from.

There was a girl marching towards him. She wore only a tank top, showing off her strong biceps and sturdy shoulders. She had spiky black hair that only enhanced her muscular body and electric blue eyes that sparked with anger. There was a knife in her left hand and her right was empty.

Derrin was shoved against the wall, the silver knife resting against his throat. “Don’t you dare touch him,” Thalia growled, sounding like an angry predator. “Not a single hair on his head. If you do, I swear I’ll cut your dick off and shove it down your throat.”

Thalia then pushed him against the wall with all her strength, turning to Percy. He had a quirky expression on his face. “Someone’s protective,” the boy mocked.

Thalia scowled. “Shut up. I don’t like you getting hurt,” she protested.

“And I don’t either,” Percy countered. “But you know that-”

“Yeah, yeah, ‘don’t hurt the mortals.’ Fuck these mortals. Can I put them in Punishment, like, now?” Thalia asked rhetorically.

Percy grinned. “I wish. I think you scared them enough though.”

Thalia smiled wickedly. “Oh, I’m not sure. Perhaps we could just hurt them a little,” she mused.

“Thalia,” Percy warned. The girl raised an eyebrow. “Do you really think I would do that?”

“Yes.” No hesitation.

“You’re right, of course, but I guess I won’t. Toss me that knife, will you?” Thalia asked the cowering Derrin. He scrambled to appease her, weakly throwing the knife in her direction. She caught it, spun the hilt on one finger for extra effect, and sheathed the blade.

“Well, Percy, shall we go?” Thalia said, playfully offering her elbow.

Percy laughed. “Of course, dear cousin, of course.”


	45. Valentines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aphrodite kids get into some trouble.

“Woah! Hey! What’s this?” Percy shouted, crashing into the double doors. They shuddered but kept firm, held in place by a lock outside. “Let us out!”  
  
“Damned Aphrodite spawn!” Thalia cursed, throwing a bolt of lightning at the door, which only served to char the wood. They heard the love children laughing outside.

 

“This is our day!” Drew taunted knocking lightly on the door, to which Thalia punched back. “The worldwide day of love! And I will not go past it without getting you two together!”

 

“Tanaka! I am going to bust out of here and fucking _slaughter_ you!” Thalia raged, throwing an electrified fist at the door. She heard a screech as Drew flew away from the doors, and Thalia grinned in satisfaction. Better than nothing.

 

It was Valentine's day. The Aphrodite kids would always shove together anyone who they thought would be a good couple, and Percy and Thalia were unfortunately chosen. With Thalia quitting the hunters and Percy and Annabeth having a mutual break-up, this was the ‘perfect chance’ to put the two cousins, _cousins,_ into a relationship. Neither were very happy.

 

“Stupid Aphrodite, stupid Drew, stupid Valentine’s day, fuck my life!” Percy complained. “Kill me now!”  
  
“Wait, Perce, c’mere,” Thalia said quietly. They heard the teens giggling outside, so Thalia kept her voice down. “They were a bit dumb to lock us up in the armoury, weren’t they?” She whispered in his ear. Percy grinned and grabbed Riptide, Thalia fetching a sword from the corner. Percy carefully, so no one would hear, pierced his sword through the wall and began to cut. Thalia copied his movements parallel to him.

 

“It’s a bit quiet in there!” Drew sang. “Come on, I want some action!”  


Thalia pressed a finger to her lips and carefully put the sword on the ground, trotting over to the door and knocking on it. “When you say action, do you mean me kicking your ass or what?”

 

“No!” Drew whined, and Thalia glanced behind her to see Percy finishing up the two sides and starting to cut the top. “I mean with you and Percy!”  
  
“No!” Percy shouted. “We will stay at opposite sides of this room until you let us out!”

 

“Percy, but why?” Drew whined, drawing out the why. “I just want you two to at least kiss!”  
  
“For the last time, Drew, it is not. Happening,” Thalia snarled. “Stop trying.”

 

There was a sudden flare of light in the room and Thalia turned to see Percy holding a cutout rectangle of wood about four feet tall. He ducked under the top and stepped through, beckoning for her to come. “You know what, Drew, I’m done answering you. You can hear our silence,” Thalia said to make the girl believe they didn’t just flat out leave. Thalia then crept to the other side of the armoury, exiting, and Percy replaced the board. They smirked at each other.

 

Drew said something else, but both demigods ignored it and bolted into the woods directly behind the armoury. They kept quiet for a few minutes before they both burst out laughing, Thalia skidding to a stop and Percy narrowly avoiding crashing face-first into a tree.

 

“That was painful at first, but I must say, the escape was worth the start,” Percy chuckled. “I wish we could see their reactions.”

 

“So do I,” Thalia laughed. “Why don’t we go back over to the arena and watch from a distance?”  


“Yes!” Percy exclaimed. “Why did we run out here in the first place?”  
  
“Just to get away from the ugly bitch?” Thalia offered, a grin spreading across her face as Percy laughed, herself struggling to contain one.

 

“Alright, let’s go,” Percy said after a minute, and they both raced over the arena, making sure to take the long way around just in case. They entered the arena, climbing up the bleachers and sitting on the top, watching over the low wall that guarded the back.

 

“Is the whole cabin seriously there?” Thalia groaned. “I thought it was just a few of them.”

 

“They wouldn’t miss the chance to have us ‘get together,’” Percy mocked. “As if. We’re family, even if DNA doesn’t matter. I, for one, am against incest. They apparently aren’t.”  


“Apparently,” Thalia scoffed, watching the Aphrodite cabin try and draw words out of the people they thought were in the armoury. “This is pitiful.”

 

“It is,” Percy agreed. “Give them a bit, even they don’t have the most patience. They’ll unlock it eventually.”

 

Percy was right. After maybe ten more minutes, about thirty since they had abandoned the armoury, Drew unlocked the door. She opened one and her gaping face made the two demigods bust out laughing, Percy leaning on Thalia for support. The cabin filed into the armoury, and eventually, the wooden rectangle at the back was pushed out. Two heads poked out, pure astonishment on their faces. The demigods dissolved into laughter once more.

 

“Holy shit, that was amazing,” Thalia gasped after a minute.

 

Percy chuckled. “Yes, it most definitely _was.”_ They grinned at each other. That was, until a shout drew their attention back to the Aphrodite kids. All heads were turned in their direction now.

 

“Oh look, they found us. I’m so afraid,” Thalia said in a monotonous tone.

 

“Here they come. Ready, cousin?” Percy smirked.

 

Thalia smiled evilly. “Ready.”

 

**Tell me about who you want Percy paired with. I'm doing something for IFD2019.**


	46. Singles Awareness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia and Percy decide to fix their 'single' rep.

“Hey, group!” Leo called, skipping over to the seven-plus some who were hanging out around the auditorium. “Guess what?”   
  
“What, Leo?” Annabeth said, knowing this was going to be something stupid. Jason sighed from next to her, draping an arm over her shoulder. “I hope it isn’t  _ too  _ stupid.”

 

“It’s national Percy Thalia Nico day!” Leo exclaimed. There was silence as they all stared at him. “Come on, guys,” he complained. “It’s national singles awareness day! You know, since they are all single . . .”

 

Thalia shifted, pulling out her bow. “Piper, permission to kill your boyfriend?” She asked the beauty.

 

Piper huffed. “Go right ahead. He needs it.”

 

Leo’s eyes widened. “Woah, woah, let's calm down here. Piper, you don’t really want me dead, right?” He laughed nervously. “Pipes?”   
  


“Prepare to die, Valdez,” Thalia smirked, setting her arrow and aiming. Leo’s hands flew up to cover his face and he heard the twang of a bow just before something not sharp but incredibly strong hit him straight in the stomach. He gasped and saw Nico standing in front of him, his frown quirking up at the sides. Percy bust out laughing along with the rest of the seven.

 

“Holy shit, Nico,” Leo groaned. “I didn’t know those tiny arms could pack such a punch.”   
  


“These  _ tiny arms  _ could snap your skinny neck right now.” His eyes glinted in a frightening way. “I would not say such things if I were you.” 

 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Leo gasped. “I take it back! Today is not Percy Thalia Nico day!”

 

“Thank you.” The son of Hades drew back, grinning malevolently. “Now be more careful in the future, will you?”

 

“I will!” Leo said frantically, scrambling over to his girlfriend, who was grinning playfully at him. 

 

They stayed until the campfire, where they then split to join up with their cabins. The big three kids all stuck together with no other cabinmates through the whole thing, and eventually, the campers filed out. Percy, Nico, and Thalia were the only ones that remained.

 

“Can I just say that I enjoyed you beating up Leo earlier?” Percy said to Nico, breaking the silence. “That was awesome.”

 

“Yes, it was,” Thalia grinned. “Happy I could help you with scaring the shit out of him, even if all I did was point an arrow at him.”

 

“Thalia, you know he’s afraid of your arrows,” Nico retorted. “It was you who gave me the chance to get at him.”

 

“Aw, how kind, being humble. So unlike you,” Thalia said sweetly, placing a hand on her heart.

 

Nico sighed. “I’m leaving. You’re annoying. Goodnight.”

 

“Nico!” Percy protested, but the shadows cast from the dying firelight swarmed the boy, and he was gone.

 

Thalia sighed. “Damned little bastard,” she said, the affection present in her voice even with her word choice. “Can’t even stay with his friends. Hmph.”

 

“Hey, I’m still here,” Percy said. “I can’t be that bad, can I?”   
  
“Yes,  _ you can,” _ Thalia said without any hesitation.

 

Percy grinned. “Oh, you love it, don’t you?”

 

Thalia smirked at him. Wrong choice of words. Or, perhaps, right choice of words. “You know how Leo declared us both single?” She said suddenly.

 

Percy frowned in confusion. “Umm . . . yes?”

 

Thalia scooted closer to him on the log, pressing her body against his and searching his face for a reaction. He looked very perplexed, a bit surprised, and a slight bit of lust. It was enough for her. She lightly grabbed his chin. “Why don’t we change that?”   
  
Before Percy could answer, her lips were on his. It was only for a few seconds, but when she pulled back Percy found himself practically hypnotised by her taste. “Do . . .” Percy trailed off.

 

“Yes,” Thalia said. “I do like you. More than that.” She kissed him again, and Percy reined in his emotions enough to respond. When she tried to pull back again, thinking he didn’t reciprocate her feelings, she felt his arms encircle her waist and draw her back in. She looped her arms around his neck, pushing harder against him. Her hands tangled in his dark locks, pulling him as close as he could get.

 

They separated for a second to draw a breath before their lips locked again. Thalia flicked the edge of his lips with her tongue and Percy nipped at her lip in response. She coaxed his lips open and they engaged in a battle within their mouths.

 

Thalia pulled back ever so slightly, so their lips barely brushed. “So, how do you feel about this?” She murmured against his lips. Percy just smiled wide.

 

“I think I might be in love with you.”


	47. Almond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He has returned.

**** Thalia had always hated almonds. Growing up, they were her mother’s go-to snack and were always sitting around the house. Thalia’s hatred of the nut came from her mother, and being a kid, she had thought they were like the alcohol. She knew better now, of course, but the hate never left.

 

It was Irimis who convinced her to give almonds another try. More like Percy, but she liked to think of it as her eagle’s fault instead of Percy’s. Irimis had started spending more and more time away from the camp, which didn’t worry Thalia too much, but it was getting weird. She had no idea what the bird was up to.

 

She soon found out, however, when one-day Irimis returned in the evening campfire with another eagle on his tail. Well, not an eagle, but a hawk. It was a beautiful bird, with a soft brown chest and dark brown wings, not quite as dark as Irimis but close. 

 

“What do we have here?” Thalia asked the two birds, stepping closer to the log that the two had landed upon. “Irimis, do you have a friend?”   
  


_ “This is my mate,”  _ Irimis announced.  _ “She will stay with me.” _

 

“Oh, so it’s a  _ lady  _ friend?” Thalia mused. “What’s her name?”   
  
_ “Birds don’t have names,”  _ Irimis said.  _ “You know this. She doesn’t have her own name.” _ __   
  


“Well then, we should fix that, shouldn’t we?” Thalia said, turning to the hawk. “Hello.”   
  


_ “Hello, my Lady,”  _ the hawk said hesitantly. 

 

_ “This is Thalia,”  _ Irimis said.  _ “She is my mother.” _

 

_ “Mother?”  _ The hawk said, her voice surprised.  _ “Impossible!” _

 

“I raised him,” Thalia explained. “He’s my adopted child.”

 

_ “You never told me I was adopted!”  _ Irimis said dramatically, throwing his wing over his heart and pretending to die.  _ “You’ve hurt me so! I thought you loved me!” _ _   
_ __   
“Of course I love you, you idiotic bird,” Thalia said. “Stop being theatrical.”

 

“What’s Irimis doing?” Someone butted in. Thalia turned to see Percy striding toward her, the rest of the camp caught up in a song.

 

“Being his normal idiotic self,” Thalia said. “And he brought a lady friend.”

 

Percy looked at the female hawk. “Irimis, you are an eagle,” Percy stated. “That is a hawk.”

 

_ “Yeah. So?”  _ Irimis replied. Thalia translated for him. 

 

“Can you two even be mates?” Percy asked. “I mean, that’s interbreeding. Birds can’t do that.”   
  
_ “I’m not your normal bird,”  _ Irimis stated.  _ “Give her some time, and she won’t be, either.” _

 

“Does she have a name?” Percy asked before Thalia could repeat what Irimis said. “I mean, if she’s going to stick around, she’ll need one.”

 

“Birds don’t have names,” Thalia told him. “She doesn’t.”

 

“Then she needs a name!” Percy exclaimed. “Any ideas?”   
  
_ “What is Irimis from?”  _ The hawk asked.  _ “How did you name him, my Lady?” _ __   
  


“First of all, if you’re staying with me, no ‘my lady’ shit,” Thalia said. “Second, we named him after Artemis.”

 

_ “Artemis is a kind goddess,”  _ the hawk said.  _ “I do like her.” _

 

_ “But we can’t have us both named after Artemis, can we?”  _ Irimis questioned.  _ “It’d be weird.” _

 

“What about a name that starts with A?” Thalia offered. “It’s still got resemblance to Artemis but gives us a wide range of options.”

 

_ “That sounds nice,”  _ the hawk said.

 

“Perhaps something like Angel?” Thalia said. The hawk sent her negative emotions. “Aris?” Again, negative.

 

“Almond,” Percy suddenly said. “It starts with A, and it relates to her. Look at the colour of her chest. Like an almond.”

 

_ “You’re right!”  _ Irimis exclaimed.  _ “What do you think?”  _

 

_ “I think I’d like that,”  _ the newly named Almond said.  _ “Almond. Isn’t that a sort of food?” _ __   
  


“It’s a type of nut,” Thalia said, wincing slightly. “My mother loved them.”   
  
_ “You do not like your mother?”  _ Almond noticed.  _ “Why not?” _

 

“My mom was not very kind to me,” Thalia sighed. “She let my brother be kidnapped and didn’t care for me. I’ve always related almonds to her.”   
  
_ “Perhaps I could help you to not hate these almonds, then,”  _ Almond said, fluttering her wings.

 

Thalia smiled. “I’d love that, Almond.”


	48. Random Acts of Kindness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of Iowa; Thalia invites Percy along for a trip.

“Hey, Kelp Head.” Percy looked over his shoulder to see Thalia entering the dining pavilion, striding straight towards his table. “Guess what.”

“Um . . . what?” He answered, a bit unsure of what she was doing. There was a large possibility of this hurting him.

“Do you remember when myself and the hunters brought you back to camp after you got knocked off Blackjack?” Thalia said, sitting down next to him. Chiron frowned in their direction but said nothing.

“Yeah, of course.” Percy paused. “Why?”

Thalia grinned. “I convinced Artemis to let you accompany us on our next mission.”

Percy’s eyes widened. “Seriously?” He said incredulously.

Thalia nodded. “Yep. If you’re coming, then pack up your stuff. We’re leaving before the campfire.”

“Hell yes, I’m coming,” Percy grinned. He sacrificed the rest of his food to Artemis in thanks (he noticed her smirk at him) and then jogged back to his cabin.

It took maybe five minutes to pack up what he needed, which was really only some clothes and drachma just in case. The huntresses had their own supplies, he just needed what they wouldn’t have. In other words, he needed stuff a boy would need.

Percy rejoined Thalia outside of his cabin and they walked over to the huntresses, who were gathered outside of Artemis’s cabin. Percy hung away, unsure of what to do until Artemis beckoned him over to the group. The hunters didn’t seem bothered by him, in fact, some were happy he was joining them. Lyric gave him a toothy grin and wrapped her arms around his waist, looking up at him. She was a nine-year-old daughter of Hermes that Percy had befriended last time.

Percy smiled back at her, ruffling her chestnut hair. “Hey, you,” he greeted.

Lyric’s grin grew. “Hey, Percy!” She said excitedly. “You’re coming with us! It’s so exciting!”

“Isn’t it?” Percy agreed. “Did you miss me?”

“Sort of,” Lyric told. “The other hunters did too, they just don’t admit it.”

“Really?” Percy looked up at the other huntresses. Some of them looked indifferent while a few playfully scowled at him. Thalia just smirked from her position next to Artemis. The goddess wasn’t really smiling, but her lip quirked up at the side. “Were they excited I was coming too?”

“Yeah!” Lyric said. “Well, except for Krystal. She wasn’t excited.”

“Krystal?” Must be a new huntress. He didn’t remember there being a Krystal the last time. “Could you introduce me?”

Krystal was hanging out at the back with a large scowl on her face. When she saw Percy approaching, the scowl deepened. She had pure white hair, quite unusual, with light blue eyes. “This is Krystal,” Lyric said, not seeming to mind the girl’s discomfort. “She’s a daughter of Khione.”

Ah. That explained the hair. Percy held out his hand. “Nice to meet you,” he said. “I’m Percy.”

“I know, boy,” Krystal spat. “I’ve heard too much about you. You’re just another one of those vile males. I don’t know why you’re coming along.”

That stung a bit, but Percy didn’t show it. “If I make you uncomfortable, I’ll try and keep my distance. That okay?”

Krystal growled. “I’d rather you just leave.”

Artemis seemed to realise something was about to go down. “Percy, why don’t you come over here for a moment?” She suggested, sending an uneasy glance towards her newest hunter.

“That sounds good,” Percy responded, taking one last glance at Krystal, who was looking with a bit of surprise at her patron, and went over to join Artemis and Thalia. “What’s up? Or was that just to separate us?”

“A bit of both,” Artemis admitted. “I just wanted to inform you of the mission you’ll be helping us with. I have a feeling you’ll enjoy this.”

“Really?” Percy perked up. “What is it?”

“The nymphs around Yellowstone have reported seeing dragons nesting among the geysers,” Artemis said. “We’re going to eliminate them.”

“Dragons?” Percy asked. “Those are actually a thing?”

Artemis chuckled. “This is Greek myths, Percy,” she said. “Does that really surprise you?”

“No, not really,” Percy said. “What are dragons like to fight?”

“They’re probably about as easy to kill as a drakon,” Artemis told him. “Easier if you know the secret. Much, much harder if you don’t.”

“So, what’s the secret?” Percy asked.

Artemis just smirked. “What’s the fun in telling you that?”

Percy was about to retort until Artemis called, “Move out!” Percy just sighed.

“She can be difficult,” Thalia commented from beside him.

“I’ve noticed,” he replied. “I do like her though. Much more mortal than the other gods.”

“Yes, she is,” Thalia said, gazing after the goddess as the began to follow, lagging at the back of the group. “I prefer it though.”

“I’d take her over the rest of the Olympians any day,” Percy said. 

“That’s because she actually likes you,” Thalia smirked. “Any other boy would disagree.”

“I’m just special,” Percy said, puffing his chest out.

Thalia smiled softly. “Yes, you are.”


	49. Drink Wine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia gets drunk.

“Alright, I’m out,” Percy said bluntly, pushing away his half-empty glass of wine.

“Already?” Leo groaned. “Come on, dude, at least get in a full glass.”

“Yeah, no,” Percy said flatly. “I’m leaving. You don’t have to come, you can stay here as long as you want. I’m just not into bars.”

“Well, it was worth a try,” Jason said. “Some people liked it. On that note, could you please relieve us of someone who liked it a bit too much?”

Percy sighed. “Yes, I’ll take Thalia with me.”

“Hey!” The daughter of Zeus slurred, tipsily raising a glass, the wine sloshing out over the sides. “Just because I like my wine doesn’t mean I like it.”

“You’re drunk,” Percy told her straight. She tried to protest, stumbling off of her stool and raising her fist at him. He held up his hands. “No, don’t even try and deny it. You are drunk, and going home. Come on.”

“Can you really get through an hour long drive with her on your back?” Annabeth questioned, gesturing to Percy dragging Thalia by the shoulder towards the doors.

“I figured we could just pass out at my place,” Percy said. “It’s closer, and Sally and Paul are in Montauk right now, so they won’t have to worry about her.”

Annabeth hesitated. “Are you sure that you two alone is a good idea?” She reluctantly asked.

“I’ll lock myself in my room if needed,” Percy answered jokingly. “Though I doubt she’ll last long enough to do any damage.”

“That’s true,” Annabeth admitted. “Alright, have fun.”

Percy muttered a response as he pulled Thalia behind him. The girl fought against his grip but was too hazy to really have any effect other than annoying him. He managed to push her into the back seat of the car, right in the middle so if she decided to open the doors they wouldn’t be quite so accessible.

“Where’re we going?” She stammered, leaning up between the two front seats. Her eyes were droopy and her lips stained red from too much red wine. “Wine?”

“We’re going to my place,” Percy answered, ignoring the second question. “You can stay with me there.”

“No camp?”

“No, it’s too long of a drive,” Percy said, leaving out the ‘with you’ part. She would just get offended and it would not help his situation.

She managed to stay quiet for maybe five minutes. “There yet?”

“Nope. A little less than ten minutes left,” Percy responded. “You’ll survive.”

“Too long,” she groaned. “Die.” He didn’t answer.

Her complaints carried up until they arrived. Percy helped her out of the car and into the elevator. She tried to press all the buttons and Percy had to explain to her that they might break the elevator (it probably wouldn’t he didn’t actually know) and to not touch the buttons. By that time, they were already on the third floor.

Percy managed to get her into the apartment, and she immediately collapsed onto the couch. “Why don’t you take the bed?” Percy suggested, knowing she would appreciate it in the morning.

“Leave me alone,” Thalia whined, flailing her arm at him. “I'm fine.”

“Thalia, just take the bed. It isn’t that far,” Percy groaned. “Come on.”

“No.” Percy sighed and lifted her in his arms. She yelped, whacking his chest. “No! Put me back!”

“Thalia, shut up and accept it,” Percy said, exasperated. She went limp, thankfully, and Percy got her to his bedroom with no trouble. He could take his mother’s bed.

When she felt him put her down, she grasped his shoulder and tugged him down with her. “Thalia, what are you doing?” He hissed as she pushed him onto the bed.

“Don’t leave me,” she muttered, draping herself across his body. “Please.”

Percy was a bit perplexed by the sudden change of heart, but Thalia was already half asleep on top of him. He let out a long exhale, resorting to wrapping his arms around her slackened body.

He’d be fine for a night.


	50. Chocolate Mint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy gets claimed.

It came as a surprise to everyone. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, the role models of a perfect romance, were no longer together. They said it was a mutual breakup and everyone believed it, seeing no signs of any sadness. Neither seemed to care much about the separation; if anything, they seemed happier.

That was what they thought. Thalia knew something was up with Percy that she couldn’t place her finger on it, but she had no doubt it was about the breakup. It wasn’t until she noticed him sneaking out of his cabin near midnight that she decided to get some answers.

Percy walked over to the beach, sitting down on the sands where the waves could lick at his feet. He sighed heavily, burying his face in his hands. “Annabeth, why?” He said pitifully. “Why did you do it?”

Of course! That was it! Percy was sad about the breakup. It was a lie, the breakup was _not_ mutual. Percy probably went along with it just to keep Annabeth happy. That was what he did.

Thalia slipped out of the brush, moving stealthily towards him. She sat down beside him and looped an arm over his shoulders, pulling him into her side. He started, flinching away and looking up at her with red eyes. “Thalia?” He rasped. “What are you doing?”

“Making sure you’re alright,” Thalia responded. “You obviously aren’t.”

“I’m fine,” he muttered, scooting away from Thalia. She just drew him back in, setting her chin on his head. “Stop it!”

“No.” Percy shifted his head away to look up at her. “You’ve been keeping this to yourself, Percy,” Thalia explained. “You need to let it out. Holding all this sadness in will only keep the wound open and it will never mend. Don’t you want to heal?”

“I don’t know,” Percy said. “I guess I’m a bit afraid of healing. I think it’ll change me, in ways I may not like.”

“Then you’ve got the perfect person to slap you right back if you become something bad,” Thalia said. “I can keep you in check.”

“Why do you even care?” He breathed. “What reason do you have to care for a coward such as me?”

“Perseus Jackson, never call yourself a coward again. _Never,”_ Thalia demanded, forcing him to look up at her.

“But that’s just what I am,” he sighed. “Why Annabeth left me. I’m not strong, I’m not brave, I’m not smart, I’m not handsome. I’m nothing.”

 _“Perseus fucking Jackson,_ you listen to me,” Thalia commanded. “You are strong. No one weak could withstand the rivers of Styx. No one cowardly would dare oppose the gods. No one dumb could make the right choice to save Olympus. You are perfect, Percy, goddamn _perfect.”_

“You left out handsome for a reason, though,” Percy sighed. “I’m just an ugly little bastard.”

“I like to think of you as a chocolate of sorts,” Thalia said, surprising the boy. “A chocolate mint, I guess. You’ve got the hair, the darkest of browns like a dark chocolate and beautiful, beautiful eyes like a mint.”

“Really?” Percy stammered, looking at her with wide eyes. “You think so?”

“Not only that.” Her voice dropped low and her eyes glinted. “You’re just as sweet as one as well,” she purred seductively, leaning closer to nip at his earlobe.

“Thalia,” he stuttered. “What are you doing?”

“I believe I know how to make you feel better,” she said huskily. She pressed her lips to his jaw, trailing down and dragging her lips along the soft skin on his neck. “Trust me.”

“I do,” Percy admitted. “With my life.”

Thalia snarled and snapped at his neck, her teeth sinking in and bringing a flood of pain and . . . pleasure. She dragged her tongue over the flesh held between her teeth before letting it go and placing a kiss over the mark. It bled slightly, which brought her satisfaction. “Mine,” she muttered, kissing his lips fiercely and speaking against his lips. “You are _mine.”_

“How are you so sure I agree?” Percy taunted, drawing back. She growled, her eyes igniting with a possessiveness that Percy immediately knew was for him and him only. Percy laughed kissing her on the mouth sweetly and giving in to her demands.

“Tonight I am yours.”


	51. Love your Pet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Irimis and Almond cause some trouble.

“Irimis, get your feathery ass back here!” Thalia barked, chasing after the cackling eagle. Irimis had within his claws Thalia’s dear bracelet, Aegis, and was racing away at his top speeds, swooping into the woods. Thalia cursed and bolted after the bird.

 

_ “Sorry, mom!”  _ Irimis cawed, swerving around a particularly large branch and flapping up higher.  _ “I swear I have a reason for doing this!”  _

 

“You’d better, and it’d better be good!” Thalia snapped, leaping over a low hanging branch and continuing to weave through the trees. “I’ll kill you if it isn’t!”   
  
_ “But mooooooom,”  _ Irimis taunted, doing a roll around a trunk.

 

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Thalia threatened. Irimis just clucked back at her, keeping up the cat and mouse game they were playing. “Irimis!”

 

The eagle finally landed, dropping her bracelet at the top of Zeus’s Fist and landing right next to it, looking quite proud of himself. “Bring it down here!” Thalia demanded, picking up a rock and chucking it at Irimis. He hit it away with his wing.

 

_ “Just wait a minute. You’ll see.”  _ Thalia looked at him, confused, but sat down on one of the larger boulders to wait. 

 

It was a minute before she heard footsteps crashing through the undergrowth. Almond swept into the clearing, Percy on her tail. Almond dropped something next to her bracelet and landed beside her mate. “Give it back!” Percy yelled, shaking his fist at the hawk. Almond had an amused look in her eyes.

 

_ “I think not,”  _ she replied.  _ “You can have it back when you do as we say. You as well, Thalia.” _

 

“Fuck you,” Thalia said. Percy started, looking at her in surprise. Thalia smirked at him. “Did you not see me?”   
  


“No, I didn’t,” Percy answered. “You didn’t move or say anything!”   
  
“Well, I’m  _ sorry,”  _ Thalia said with obvious sarcasm.

 

Percy frowned. “What did she say?” He asked.

 

“That neither of us will get our stuff back until we do as they say,” Thalia told him. He looked up at the birds and raised an eyebrow.

 

_ “That’s right!”  _ Irimis chirped happily.  _ “Now be a good human and sit down.” _

 

“Irimis shut your beak. Percy, come sit,” Thalia commanded. Percy complied. Irimis and Almond flew down, settling on the shoulder of the one they stole from. “What do you two want?”   
  


_ “Well,”  _ Irimis began.  _ “I would like a latte.” _

 

_ “Irimis!”  _ Almond scolded, hitting him with her wing. He coughed and shook his head.  _ “Be serious!” _ __   
  


“I’m never giving you coffee again,” Thalia said. “I don’t care what your bribe is.”

 

_ “Don’t know why,”  _ Irimis muttered. Almond hit him again. He tried to nip at her wing but she was too fast. 

 

_ “What we want if for the two of you to finally admit some things to each other,”  _ Almond explained. Thalia repeated her words to Percy.

 

“Could you . . . elaborate?” Percy asked.

 

_ “You know what I’m speaking of,”  _ Almond said.  _ “I’ve spoken with Percy, and I know that Irimis has spoken with Thalia.” _ __   
  


Thalia looked at Percy with surprise. “You want us . . . to say that?” Thalia asked hesitantly.

 

_ “Duh,”  _ Irimis cawed.  _ “Isn’t that what she just said?” _

 

“Alright, you need to shut it,” Thalia said, shooting an accusing look at the eagle on her shoulder. Irimis just shrugged.

 

“What did he say?” Percy questioned. Thalia remembered that Percy couldn’t understand the birds.

 

“Have you spoken with Almond about something recently?” Thalia asked reluctantly.

 

“Um . . . yes. Why?”

 

“They want us to tell each other what we told them,” Thalia said. “I’m guessing we both have the same thing to say, then.”

 

Percy’s eyes widened and he looked at Almond. “You traitor!” Percy exclaimed. Almond just twittered and rubbed her head on his forehead affectionately. “No, stop, I’m supposed to hate you right now!”   
  


_ “Too bad,”  _ Almond stated. Percy seemed to get the idea of what she said because he flicked her in the side. She dug her claws into his shoulder in response. He ignored it.

 

“So, then . . .” Percy began. “You like me?”

 

Thalia hesitated. “I . . . I do,” she finally stuttered. Irimis laughed quietly and Almond nipped him in the side. His mocking made her more determined to be stronger about this. “Yes, I do.”

 

“Well, nice to know my feelings are reciprocated,” Percy chuckled nervously.

 

“Well, what do you want to do about this?” Thalia said quietly. “Act on it or just go on with our lives?”   
  


_ “No!”  _ Irimis shouted, hitting her in the back of the head.  _ “You will  _ not  _ just carry on without doing something! Do you know how painfully obvious it is that you two like each other?” _ __   
  


“Is it really that obvious?” Thalia asked.

 

_ “It is,”  _ Almond replied civilly, unlike Irimis looked like he was about to do.  _ “I do recommend you act upon this yourselves before the love children force it upon you.” _

 

“You’ve got me there,” Thalia admitted. “Well, Percy? How will we do this?”   
  


“I’m not sure,” Percy said. “Gradually ease into a relationship? Maybe try for a date?”   
  


Thalia smiled. “I’d like that.”


	52. Grain Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pegasi go on strike.

“What do you mean you’re on strike?” Percy said incredulously. “You can do that?”

 _“Duh,”_ the dark pegasus nickered. _“We made our choice. Fix your mistakes or we will not be serving the campers.”_

“You need to tell me my mistake,” Percy said blankly. “I won’t know unless you tell me.”

 _“The grain!”_ Blackjack whinnied, throwing his head up. _“It’s insulting!”_

 _“Yeah!”_ Jaki snorted, shaking her flaxen head. _“This isn’t acceptable!”_

“What’s wrong with the grain?” Percy asked. “It’s your food. What else should we give you?”

 _“This is exactly why!”_ Guido neighed. _“You treat us like horses!”_

 _“Intolerable!”_ A dapple grey mare grunted; Percy recognized her to be named Strell. _“I thought you better than this, Lord!”_

“Alright, guys, listen,” Percy said, holding his hands up in surrender. “I’ll see what I can do. What do you want?”

 _“No grain!”_ Porkpie whickered. _“No horse feed!”_

“Yes, I get that,” Percy said. “Anything specific?”

 _“Doughnuts?”_ Blackjack suggested. The other pegasi nickered in agreement.

“Not doughnuts,” Percy replied, ignoring the sad sighs. “Something more healthy?”

 _“Boss, we’re more or less immortals,”_ Blackjack stated. _“Sugar doesn’t bother us.”_

“I know firsthand that it does, actually,” Percy responded. “So no, not doughnuts. Try again.”

 _“Chocolate!”_ An, ironically, chocolate brown bay stallion whinnied. _“How ‘bout that?”_

“Again, no,” Percy sighed. “We could do, like, a salad mix or something.”

 _“Your ideas suck,”_ Blackjack said matter-of-factly. _“No help.”_

“I’ll tell you what,” Percy began. “I was planning on making a visit to the hunt. If a few of you come with me, you can try and negotiate with the huntresses. They probably know what’s good for you better than I do.”

“ _Could we play with the deer?”_ Guido asked. _“I like the deer.”_

“They’re Artemis’s deer,” Percy answered. “I can ask her.”

 _“Alright, let’s go!”_ Blackjack neighed. _“Who’s coming?”_

 _“We are!”_ Guido and Porkpie chorused.

“I’ll take two more,” Percy said to the rest of the pegasi. “That’s it.”

He selected the chocolate bay and another palomino mare. Within a few minutes of selection, the small group of pegasi were off, Percy mounted upon his loyal steed’s back. With the incredible speeds of the pegasi, they arrived in the hunter’s camp within three hours despite the fact that they were all the way in California.

They landed just inside the borders of the huntresses. Percy dismounted Blackjack and held up Riptide to the approaching hunters. They recognised his sword and put away their bows, beckoning him over. He obeyed, the pegasi following behind him.

“Hey, Perce,” Thalia greeted. He grinned at her and returned a greeting. “Why do you have a whole herd of pegasi with you?”

“They’re going on strike because they want less ‘horse-like’ food,” Percy explained. “I thought the hunt could do better than I could. I was already coming, might as well bring them along.”

“Reasonable, I guess,” Thalia agreed. “Come on, then. Continue with patrol,” Thalia instructed to the other hunters in her group. Percy followed Thalia back to camp, the pegasi on his heels.

“So, are the pegasi just going to roam around?” Percy asked. “Is there somewhere you want them?”

“They’re fine doing whatever,” Thalia replied, much to the happiness of the pegasi. “We can discuss with them later. For now, just come back to camp. We’ll get you situated and go from there.” Blackjack whinnied, tossing his head, and Percy knew he was about to do something.

 _“Freetime! Let’s go!”_ Then off they went, most likely to cause havoc. Percy sighed.

Maybe bringing them wasn’t such a good idea.


	53. California

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia escapes her fears.

As it turned out, the huntresses loved the pegasi. Artemis had agreed to allow her deer to roam with the equines, and the two groups seemed to thoroughly enjoy interacting with each other. The wolves would even participate at times, which was an interesting sight to see. Then again, these were mythical creatures, even the wolves, so it shouldn't have been such a surprise.

 

The pegasi loved the huntresses back. The smaller girls would climb on their backs, groom them, braid their manes and prime their feathers. The older huntresses would help out their younger sisters and sometimes would hop on their backs to get some fun in.

 

Guido and Blackjack already had owners, but to other three were free. Percy wouldn't be surprised if all three found themselves new owners here with the hunters. Thalia had taken a liking to the Palomino, who's name, he was told, was Geneva. Geneva followed the lieutenant everywhere and would gleefully mess with her, hitting her lightly in the back with her wing or muzzle, throwing her head over her shoulder and pulling the girl into her chest.

 

“You two seem to get along well,” Percy mentioned after his third day with the hunt. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she stayed with you, Thalia.”   
  


_ “I would happily stay with Lieutenant,”  _ Geneva nickered.  _ “I claim her as my owner.” _

 

“I would love for her to stay,” Thalia said, leaning into Geneva’s side. “She’s absolutely amazing.”

 

“Though you would never reach full potential,” Percy commented. “You wouldn’t fly.”

 

_ “Of course we would fly,”  _ Geneva said.  _ “Why wouldn’t we?” _ __   
  


“Well,” Percy began, leaning closer. “Thals here is afraid of heights.”

 

Geneva turned her head to Thalia. The daughter of Zeus flushed in embarrassment. “It’s true,” Thalia muttered to Geneva. “I am.”

 

_ “A daughter of Zeus? Afraid of the sky?”  _ Geneva neighed, amused.  _ “How funny. Sad, though. I enjoy my flights.” _

 

“We could always try and get rid of that fear,” Percy suggested, turning to Thalia. “I bet you would be more confident on Geneva.”

 

“It’s scary,” Thalia murmured, her face tomato red. “Must we?”   
  


_ “It isn’t that bad!”  _ Geneva said, tossing her head.  _ “I believe you would enjoy it.” _

 

“Geneva thinks you’d enjoy it,” Percy relayed. “Come on, at least try it. I’m sure Geneva agrees with me.”

 

_ “Oh, yes!”  _ Geneva confirmed, bobbing her head.  _ “Please do!” _

 

“Alright, fine,” Thalia said reluctantly. She placed a hand on Geneva’s wing and another on her shoulder. “Are we going now?”

 

“Yes,” Percy said, mentally reaching out for Blackjack. “Go on, mount up. Will you need help?”

 

“I think I’m fine,” Thalia said. She crouched down and jumped, using Geneva’s back to push off of. She landed square between the large, strong shoulders of her pegasus. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

 

“Show off,” Percy growled playfully. Thalia grinned as he calmly mounted his own pegasus. “Come on.”

 

Thalia suddenly lost her arrogant face, going white. “Hold on,” she stuttered, but Geneva was already trotting after Percy. Thalia held on to the white mane of Geneva, afraid of falling with her bouncy gait.

 

“Grip with your legs,” Percy called, “not with your hands. Keep hold of her mane, though. You’ll need it.” Thalia complied, still holding tight to Geneva’s mane.

 

They began to lope, easing into a gallop through the trees. Thalia’s excitement slowly grew as the wind rushed over her face, feeling as if she and Geneva were melding together into one being. She felt as if she were already flying, and it was amazing. Until the take off.

 

The two pegasi rushed out of the trees and jumped as high as they could, wings opening. Her fear abruptly returned as the ground grew farther and farther away. She could feel Geneva’s strong shoulders flexing up and down against her hips, and she tried to relax into the feeling, but whenever she glanced down she stiffened up again.

 

Geneva whinnied, and Blackjack replied back. Percy snorted, a chuckle escaping his lips as Geneva threw her head as if insulted. “Blackjack, you really don’t want to say that,” Percy managed between his laughing. He glanced at Thalia uncertainly.

 

“What did he say?” Thalia growled to Percy. He burst out into laughing again.

 

“He called you a ‘fucking wuss,’” Percy repeated. Blackjack flicked Percy with his long tail and increased his speed, Geneva racing after her pitch black brother. “Geneva took it to heart.”

 

“I love you, you insolent horse,” Thalia chuckled, rubbing her hands over Geneva’s neck. Geneva nickered quietly, her eyes bright. She seemed to be extremely happy about something.

 

“Hey, Thals?” Percy said. “Guess what?”

 

“Huh?” Thalia grunted in reply. His eyes sparkled with what seemed to be a bit of pride and a wide smile was on his face.

 

“You aren’t afraid.”


	54. Dog Biscuit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia is a hypocrite.

“You want it, girl?” Mrs O’Leary wagged her tail, crouching low against the ground with her tongue lolling out of her mouth. She watched Percy excitedly as he held a hunk of meat in his hand. “You want it?”

The hellhound barked, the sound echoing around camp. Percy tossed the chunk as far as he could, watching Mrs O’Leary turn and sprint after it. She leapt to catch it in her mouth but missed as she flew under it, scrambling to reverse herself and get her treat.

“Is it really a good idea to play fetch with a giant dog?” A feminine voice said from behind him. Percy turned to see Thalia, decked out in her hunters gear, as usual, walking towards him.

“Do you have anything on you that you want to keep dry?” Percy asked out of nowhere, watching his hellhound run back towards them.

Thalia frowned. “It’s all waterproof. Why?”

Mrs O’Leary chose that time to leap onto Thalia, knocking the huntress down and licking her. Thalia spluttered as the giant tongue dragged up her body, somersaulting out from her position under the domestic monster and climbing to her feet, wiping slobber from her body. “Gross.”

Percy was laughing his head off, stroking Mrs O’Leary’s head as she sat down. “That was great!” He gasped between breaths.

“Did you tell her to do this?” Thalia demanded.

“No! She did that all on her own!” Mrs O’Leary barked in agreement, nudging Percy with her large nose. He grinned, pulling another piece of meat from his bag and throwing it across camp. The demigods scattered as she charged through, watching the not-so-graceful hellhound stumble around after her treat as if she was just some normal dog and not a huge monster that could devour you in one gulp.

“You know, at first I hate her for doing this to me but I can’t hold up when I see this fearsome creature going crazy over her makeshift frisbee,” Thalia commented as the hellhound trotted happily back to them. “She’s the most unusual monster I’ve ever met, and probably will ever meet.”

“She’s an odd one, that’s for sure,” Percy acquiesced. He popped open his old shield, the one Tyson had made for him all those years ago, and threw it to Mrs O’Leary. She caught that one, settling down to happily chew on the equipment. 

Percy slung an arm around Thalia’s shoulder, leaning in close to her. “Shall we go somewhere more . . . private?” He suggested, dragging his teeth over her ear.

Thalia smirked, turning her head to peck him on the lips before sprinting away. Percy shouted, bolting after her as she left him in the dust.

And Thalia was complaining about Mrs O’Leary doing the same earlier.


	55. Tortilla Chip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demigods have a sleepover.

Demigod attempts at being normal never ended up the way they were supposed to. Their first try had been doing what mortals called a ‘sleepover,’ where they all, as in the seven, Nico, Thalia and Reyna, decided to spend the night in the Zeus cabin, as it had literally nothing in it other than a giant statue, a bed and a hammock. Usually, doing Percy’s cabin would be more acceptable, since it actually had beds, but all the beds would end up getting destroyed by the ADHD demigods. The Zeus cabin had no such restrictions other than the actual walls.

So they all dragged over a pillow and some blankets to sleep on, not bothering with anything else since their cabins were just outside. Thalia had shoved all of her junk into her corner, not one to be very tidy, while Jason just watched in amusement with nothing to move.

They all gathered in the cabin after the campfire, Leo deciding to bring maybe ten bags of tortilla chips. How he managed to acquire such things, no one knew, but it was food, so there wasn’t any complaining.

The first dozen minutes were spent doing a makeshift fight, with blankets as the shields and pillows as the arsenal. Frank and Thalia, the two archers, were deadly, managing to hit people square in the face with more force than should be possible. The sword fighters were more strength than speed, charging people head on and knocking them down, while the knife fighters were all dodges. Anyone who fought with a spear was at an extreme disadvantage, meaning Reyna was really bad at pillow fights. Eventually, they were all on the ground and no one felt like standing up to hit someone else.

“Hey Nico, toss me one of those chip bags, won’t you?” Piper asked from her position draped over Annabeth. Nico, the one closest to the chips, tossed one towards the demigoddess. Annabeth snagged the bag before Piper could get to it and ripped it open, popping a chip into her mouth and allowing Piper to steal some.

“Those are mine! I have the rights to have a bag to myself!” Leo demanded, ignoring the fact that Thalia was eyeing him from her spot beside him. Reyna hit her in the shoulder and Nico threw one bag at Leo and another at Thalia. Reyna tried to take a chip from Thalia but failed as Thalia kept the bag away. Reyna lashed out and pulled the bag away from the daughter of Zeus, who tackled the praetor and the two girls began wrestling on the floor.

Jason pulled their bag away and stole a handful for himself, allowing Hazel and Percy to grab some from him. Nico just sighed. “You do realise there are enough bags for each of us to have one of our own?”

“Nonsense!” Leo said dramatically. “I as the bringer of the chips decree that no one can have their own bag except for me!”

“Then why did you bring ten?” Nico replied, his face cracking a slight smile as Leo struggled to find a comeback.

“Because there was a sale!” He decided, it obviously being an excuse. Nico just gave him a blank stare and tossed a bag to Frank, two towards Thalia and Reyna, two towards Jason, Hazel and Percy, one towards Annabeth and Piper, then opened the last one himself, raising a challenging eyebrow at Leo. The son of Hephaestus summoned a fireball in his hand in his hand but was hit in the head by Reyna, who was done trying to pin Thalia to the ground.

There was casual conversation about things that definitely were _not_ mortal topics (ex. Why stabbing was better than slicing) late into the night until everyone began to pass out. It was maybe one in the morning and Percy was still awake. From what he could tell, everyone else was asleep, but he just couldn’t fall asleep. The wooden planks were just too uncomfortable, the statue leering above him too unnerving.

He sat up, glancing around. Most of them weren’t even on their own bedrolls. Annabeth and Piper were still curled up together on Annabeth’s blankets; Reyna was laying between Jason and Leo’s bedrolls, her head on Jason’s stomach and her feet on Leo’s. Frank was laying by Hazel’s feet as a shaggy golden retriever dog. Nico, of course, was secluded from the group. Thalia was next to Jason, constantly shifting and rolling over. She didn’t seem to be asleep.

“Thalia?” He called softly, watching as she twitched at the sound of his voice. “Are you awake?”

He heard her sigh. “Unwillingly,” she grumbled softly. Percy moved from his sleeping spot and sat by her head. “I’m too uncomfortable, no matter how tired I am.”

“I feel the same way,” Percy muttered. Thalia groaned, sitting up and stretching, her back popping audibly. Percy shifted so that he was beside her. “How can you deal with that giant statue?”

“My hammock’s behind it,” Thalia pointed out. “I can’t feel its eyes boring into me back there. Out here, though, it’s not very comfortable.”

“It sure isn’t,” Percy agreed. He noticed how Thalia’s shoulders sagged, her eyes half-lidded. “You really are tired, aren’t you?”

“I wasn’t expecting to be staying up this late tonight,” she yawned. “Didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Why not?” Percy asked.

“I hadn’t been tired,” she said. “Went out into the woods. Very interesting at night. Hadn’t expected it to take such a toll on me tonight.” She yawned again, leaning heavily on his side. The warmth was refreshing, something other than the cold hard ground beneath them. He shifted so she was leaning against his chest, her involuntarily sighing. He watched her eyes almost immediately flicker closed, her breath slowing down and her body sagging against his.

He leaned back onto her bedroll, his eyes already closing. Somehow, having Thalia draped on top of him was a better blanket than he’d ever had.

This was nice.


	56. Chocolate Covered Nut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia gets pranked.

Thalia, despite her fear of heights, loves to climb up her tree. It was a bit ironic, truthfully, but it comforted her. She would’ve thought being on something that used to be her body would be a bit disturbing, but it was soothing. She had no fear of falling like she usually did while up high; it was a place where she could escape from the crowded campgrounds. Almost everyone at camp knew she went there for solace, which is probably why she should’ve expected this to happen.

It had been a peaceful afternoon, during the free time that Chiron generously allowed all demigods (though half the camp never did what their schedule told them to). She had just placed her hand onto the low-hanging branch when she heard a creak from above her and looked up only to get a face full of _something._

There was the sound of three people cracking up. Thalia shook her head, wiping the substance off of her eyes and growling when she spotted the culprits. Connor and Travis Stoll, to absolutely nobody’s surprise, and Percy Jackson. The brothers froze up when they noticed she had spotted them and bolted. Percy didn’t. He stayed in place and just smirked at her.

“What the hell is this?” Thalia snapped, shaking her hand and flinging some of it onto Percy. He just grinned and licked off a droplet that had landed on his lips. She was very confused, hesitantly licking off what was on her lips.

“You dumped chocolate pudding on me?” Percy nodded, stepping closer and swiping some off, sucking it off all of his fingers one by one. She slapped him. “Stop that! You do know I’ll kill you for this?”

“Can we eat the chocolate first?” Percy asked hopefully. Thalia suddenly gained a look that Percy immediately knew meant she had an idea. She suddenly lunged, slamming her chocolate-covered body into his. He yelped, falling to the ground with his front now covered in chocolate pudding.

Percy growled playfully and flipped them over so he was on top of her, his elbows on either side of her head. “It is on!” He snapped. Thalia curled her feet up to her chest and pushed against his stomach with her feet, flipping him backwards. She rolled into a standing position, Percy already up a couple metres away.

They charged each other, gripping onto the other’s shoulders and arms in order to push. Percy was stronger, meaning he had the advantage, but Thalia was quicker. She slipped out of his grasp, ducking under his arms and doing a roundhouse kick into his back. Percy flew across the area, landing just outside of camp borders on the ground. He groaned, not bothering to get up. Not like he could, with how Thalia had straddled him and had her arm against his throat.

“Alright, you win,” Percy sighed, sitting up. Thalia slid onto his lap, and Percy realised he had just placed his face mere inches away from hers. He noticed that about half of the chocolate was off of her, part of the lost divided between him and the ground. Her face was mostly cleared of it, though it was lined around her face and part of her neck.

Whoever made the first move, neither really knew. Suddenly, her lips were on his, his arms wrapped around her back and her hands in his hair. Her lips tasted of, unsurprisingly, the exact same pudding that they had dumped all over her. They separated for maybe a second to catch a bit of air before their lips were back together.

Thalia took one of her hands and shoved him onto his back once more, all of her weight resting on him. She pulled back after a while, resting her forehead onto his, both of them panting. Percy opened his eyes to see her staring back at him with a variety of emotions, but she didn’t seem angry.

“Wow,” was all he could say. Thalia laughed, and after what just happened, he found the sound quite endearing.

“That was ‘wow,’ wasn’t it?” She agreed, resting one hand on his cheek and the other beside his head. “You’re a good kisser, Kelp Head.”

“As are you, Pinecone Face,” Percy chuckled. “I think having your first kiss covered in chocolate is a nice way to go.”

Thalia only kissed him again.


	57. Tell a Fairy Tale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia reminisces.

“Oh, come on, don’t tell me you still care for that boy,” Nova scoffed, fiddling with her silver knife, the blade glinting in the dying sunlight.

“He’s my brother! Of course I care for him!” Leila protested, a frown marring her face. “I can’t hate my family!”

 

Oh, yes you can, Thalia thought, looking wistfully at the two hunters. Nova was a daughter of Ares, joining the hunters maybe a hundred fifty years ago, while Leila was a daughter of Demeter that had joined only thirty years back. Her younger brother was still alive, living as a mortal working for the airforce.

It made Thalia depressed. She had a brother once. Jason. He had lived a long life, dying of old age at eighty-three. That had been six hundred years ago. Anyone who remembered him was already dead by now, including any huntress that had known him. He wasn’t the only one she missed, of course. Annabeth had been her best friend, and Piper had been a wonderful step-sister. And Percy, oh, Percy . . .

He had been one of her best friends. They had a fluctuating relationship between friends and lovers for a long time, Percy trying to figure out if he wanted her or Annabeth, and Thalia if she wanted to leave the hunters or not. Before they could come to a conclusion, he had died in a small attack on Camp Jupiter at age twenty-eight.

“He’s a male!” Nova snapped. “Just a vile creature we should treat with absolutely no respect.”

“But-” Leila began.

“No buts!” Nova snarled. “How can you love a boy after what you’ve seen them do? He’s just a disgusting rapist!”

“Nova!” Thalia finally barked. “Quiet!” Leila looked wounded, curling up while sending Thalia a grateful look.

“Don’t tell me you think she is okay to love a male,” Nova growled.

“He is her brother,” Thalia said darkly. “She can love him.”

 

“But he’s a male!” Nova argued. “All males are horrible!”

 

“Not all,” Thalia said wistfully, thinking back to all the male heroes she had known. Jason, Percy, Frank, Leo, Nico, Will, and so many more, including their sons and then grandsons. All of them were wonderful, deserving of all the respect the hunters could give. Thalia could understand the hatred of males, she was a bit sexist herself, but Nova was next-level feminist. Too much.

“What do you mean?” Nova looked taken aback. The rest of the huntresses were watching now, Artemis included. “Don’t tell me you love a male as well.”

“You know nothing!” Thalia said brusquely. “You don’t know anything, child!”

“Fine, then,” Nova demanded. “Tell us. Tell us of this male that managed to earn your love.”

“I will,” Thalia said. “I will tell you the story of the most honourable male I ever knew. I’ve known many.”

The huntresses shuffled around the campfire, huddling close to the flames for warmth. It was only a little after dusk, and Canada could get very cold at night. “This man I loved with all my heart,” Thalia started. “We never committed to a relationship, never got the chance to. He had a girlfriend that he loved dearly, but his heart was torn in two and he couldn’t leave someone he loved, even if it was for another that he loved.” A few of the older hunters bristled at the thought of a male loving two females, but the younger, less sexist ones leaned closer in anticipation.

“His name was Perseus Jackson,” Thalia said, noticing Artemis smile at his name. She had been close to him as well, loved him as only a friend could love. Artemis had known of her attraction but never faulted her for it, knowing well that he had all the qualities a girl could want. If she hadn’t known better, Thalia would’ve sworn Artemis had been pressing it. “He preferred the name Percy, thinking his full name was too formal. He was a son of Poseidon, the first in a hundred years.”

“Doesn’t that make him your cousin?” A younger hunter asked.

“It would, but Gods don’t have any DNA, meaning we shared no blood,” Thalia explained. “Anyways, he figured out his heritage after being accused by Hades of stealing Zeus’s master bolt and Hades’ helmet, which had been missing.” A few hunters gasped in surprise. “Percy went on a quest with two others, his future girlfriend and his satyr protector to find the bolt. He faced Medusa, the Chimera, Echidna, the Lotus-eaters, even fought Ares and won. He returned the bolt and pointed to the guilty, accomplishing his first of many feats done for Olympus.”

“Who stole the bolt?” Leila asked curiously. 

 

“A demigod son of Hermes named Luke Castellan,” Thalia said, choking slightly on his name. “He had been a companion of mine for years and his betrayal was heartbreaking, though I wasn’t alive to witness it.”

“Were you dead?”

“No, I was a tree,” Thalia said. “That’s a story for another time, though. Next year, he returned to camp and learned that Thalia’s Pine, which was me at the time, had been poisoned and was weakening the barriers. He fought off a few monsters that had made it into camp and a quest was declared to fetch the golden fleece to heal me. He wasn’t chosen, but he snuck onto the quest along with two others, which turned out to be for the better. He faced off against Charybdis and Scylla, the sirens, Circe, and Polyphemus, managing to get the golden fleece and had Clarisse, the girl originally sent on the quest, take it back to camp so that she got the credit she deserved for the quest. That was when I was freed from my prison.”

“Why does this make this male any different?” Nova asked. “He’s just a hero.”

“He didn’t brag about any of his achievements, ever,” Thalia said. “He was very humble. Perhaps this next quest will help change your mind.” She noticed Artemis cringe slightly, remembering the results of this certain quest. Thalia had learned to deal with the pain, but Zoë had been Artemis’s companion for millennia. The pain for her was immense. Thalia didn’t want to have to recount this story in front of her.

“You can leave, Mi’lady,” Thalia said quietly. 

Artemis just shook her head. “No, no. I’ll be fine. Go on. I can deal.”

“Are you sure?” Thalia pushed.

“I’m sure,” Artemis responded, steeling up. The hunters looked confused. Artemis noticed. “Do you remember when I told you about Zoë Nightshade?” They all nodded. “This is where she . . .” the goddess choked up a bit. “Died.”

“Was it this boy’s fault?” Nova sneered.

Artemis shook her head. “Not at all, though he blamed himself. I myself was quite fond of Percy. He was possibly the only male friend I’ve ever had that I can say never once showed signs of foulness.” The hunters gaped at her for a moment, surprised. Artemis gestured for Thalia to go on.

“Percy had been sent along with Annabeth and me to rescue two demigods Grover had sensed,” Thalia started, ignoring the confusion at the names. “The manticore was there guarding the demigods, who turned out to be children of Hades that had been stuck in time for the past seventy years. We tried to fight the monster, but we couldn’t kill it. Then the hunters came in. They defeated, not killed, the manticore, at the price of him taking Annabeth as a hostage. The hunters came to camp while Artemis went on a solo hunt. It was later revealed through a prophecy and multiple dreams that Artemis, while on her hunt, had been captured by Atlas and was being forced to hold up the sky.”

Heads swung towards Artemis, who nodded. Thalia was the only one who noticed her slightly damp eyes. “The quest sent consisted of myself, Zoë, Grover and the daughter of Hades, Bianca. The fifth member, another huntress, had been injured and unable to go. Percy interfered, joining the quest and informing us of Atlas sending Sparti after us. He helped us fight the Nemean lion before we left. Our next fight was in New Mexico, where we fought a wild monstrous boar sent by Pan to take us to Arizona. Percy and I defeated that one.” Thalia noticed the proud looks of the hunters for their lieutenant but ignored them. 

“We intruded in Hephaestus’s junkyard on accident, Bianca dying there,” Thalia stumbled over Bianca a bit before shaking her head and continuing. “We went on to Hoover Dam, where we killed a bunch more Sparti and then went to Mt. Tamalpais, where Othrys was reforming. For those who don’t know, that is where the Hesperides and Atlas are. Atlas was also Zoë’s father, and the Hesperides her sisters.” Thalia pretended to not see the astonishment. “We fought our way up there past Ladon and engaged Atlas. Percy took the sky from Artemis so she could fight and we put him back under the sky, at the cost of Zoë’s life.”

“So he did kill her!” Nova said. “He’s just a male bastard!”

“He did not kill her!” Thalia snapped. “Percy owned Anaklusmos, which was Zoë’s own creation. It had first been owned by Heracles, then by other corrupt heroes, and Zoë said herself that she was honoured he carried her sword. She was honoured to have met a male like him. A man like him.” She was shaking now, tears threatening to spill.

“That was when he first began to gain my respect,” Artemis said hoarsely. Thalia noted the tears on her cheeks. “He was a wonderful male.”

Thalia knew he was more than that.


	58. Retro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia falls.

“How do they expect me to get to Camp Jupiter in so little time?” Thalia groaned, plopping herself down at the Poseidon table for dinner.

 

“Did Jason ask for your help with something again?” Percy asked, not looking up from his plate. This had happened before.

 

“Yes. Apparently, there’s a monster camp in the area again. He asked for me to come and try and figure out why they keep popping up instead of just defeating them over and over again.” She sighed. “I guess my ex-hunter status does make me the go-to for stealth missions.”

 

“Why can’t Artemis just drop you off like the last few times?” Percy questioned. 

 

“Zeus figured out what she was doing and banned it,” Thalia answered. “I need to ‘find my own transportation.’ He recommended plane, but we all know that isn’t happening.”

 

“When has Artemis ever followed the rules? Why would she now?” Percy continued.

 

“Must’ve been threatened with something big,” Thalia said. “Can’t think of any other reason.”

 

“Why not have me transport you?” Percy suggested. Thalia looked at him in confusion.

 

“How? By water?”

 

“Nope,” Percy said, popping the p. “Pegasi.”

 

Thalia’s face went paper white. “No! Absolutely  _ not.  _ I refuse to go up into the sky.”

 

“You need to learn to get over your fear at some point,” Percy pointed out. “Why not with someone who knows what they’re doing?”   
  
“And how could  _ you  _ catch me?” Thalia demanded, raising an eyebrow.

 

“I could catch you with water, for one,” Percy said. “And pegasi can dive faster than you can fall.”

 

Thalia was silent for a minute. “Fine,” she finally murmured. “I’ll do it.”   
  
Percy brightened. “Great! When should we leave?”

 

“Is it better to fly at night or day?” Thalia asked instead.

 

Percy frowned. “If you want stealth, then night. If not, either works.”   
  


“Then let’s go after dinner,” Thalia decided. “That alright?”   
  


“That’s fine,” Percy said. “I’m done, anyway. Meet me at the stables.”

 

“Will do,” Thalia said, hopping off the bench and out of the pavilion.

 

As promised, Thalia met Percy at the stables maybe ten minutes after leaving the pavilion. Blackjack was already standing beside his owner, nudging at Percy’s shoulder. He lightly pushed the pegasus’s muzzle away and beckoned Thalia over. “You can decide who you want to ride,” he told her.

 

The pegasi stuck their heads out when she entered, eyeing her curiously. Multiple nickered at Percy. “She needs a ride to Camp Jupiter,” Percy said. “Who’s willing?”

 

A few pegasi backed into their stalls, some yawning as if to prove that they were too tired. “Alright,” Percy began. “Do you have any preferences?”

 

“A pegasus that won’t be bothered by me gripping onto it for dear life,” Thalia said immediately. Percy looked up. Two pegasi bobbed their heads, the others backing out. 

 

She approached a brown one with a white mane. “That’s Jaki,” Percy said. “She’s a mare that doesn’t have much stamina but can fly  _ fast.  _ The other one’s a mare named Geneva, who has a good amount of both stamina and speed.” 

 

Jaki shook her large head, whinnying loudly and kicking the stable door. Geneva snorted with displeasure, stretching her head out towards Thalia. “I think I’ll take this girl,” Thalia said, moving over to Geneva and stroking her large forehead. The mare sighed heavily. Jaki kicked the door again.

 

“Get her out and we can go whenever you’re ready,” Percy said, backing out of the stables to mount Blackjack. Thalia unlocked the stall door, opening it wide enough for Geneva’s bulk to get through. The pegasus followed her out of the stables, showing no signs of discomfort when Thalia vaulted onto her back.

 

“Good?” Percy asked, his hand lightly gripping Blackjack’s mane with the other holding onto one of the strings to his drawstring bag. 

 

“I think so,” Thalia replied nervously, using both hands to hold Geneva’s white mane. The pegasi began to trot, moving away into more open space before speeding up to a gallop. Thalia closed her eyes and clutched onto Geneva tightly as the pegasi jumped into the air, wings unfolding and lifting them up higher and higher.

 

She heard Percy whoop as they shot up at incredible speeds and hesitantly opened her eyes. They were already level with the clouds due to the amazing feat of pegasi speed. The world zoomed by beneath them so quickly Thalia’s eyes couldn’t take it in all at once. Geneva whickered quietly, turning her head to look at Thalia.

 

“She’s asking if you’re doing okay,” Percy shouted from ahead.

 

Thalia smiled. “I’m okay,” she said shakily. “I’m fine.” Geneva nodded and turned back to look at where she was going. Not like she needed to, there wasn’t anything else up here.

 

They flew for maybe an hour, Thalia spending the time trying to relax and not hurt Geneva. It seemed that Percy was finally done debating with Blackjack about what she thought was the maximum range of pegasi flight, though she couldn’t be sure. “This is boring,” he announced out of the blue.

 

“And what are you going to do about it?” Thalia challenged.

 

Percy smirked. “Geneva, if you could please.” Geneva snorted in response and Percy grinned. “You ready, Thals?”

 

“For what?” She asked.

 

“You’re ready,” Percy decided. “Let’s go!” And then he fell.

 

Thalia screamed as she felt Geneva flip upside down, Thalia falling from her back. She screamed, flailing wildly as she tried to do something. She felt a tap on her arm and turned best she could to see Percy smiling at her despite the quickly approaching ground. She gripped onto him for dear life, probably suffocating him before his body could go splat.

 

Just as she thought she was going to die, she felt herself slam into something hard. Blackjack had swooped beneath them and Percy had angled them just right so that they landed perfectly. Thalia didn’t dare let go of Percy, gripping his shoulders tightly and pressing her face into his chest.

 

“You’re fine,” Percy tried to reassure her. “Nothing happened.”

 

“We almost died!” Thalia cried in frustration. “Why would you  _ do  _ that?”   
  
“We were never in any danger,” Percy soothed. “I had it all under control.”

 

Thalia took deep breaths, feeling her heartbeat begin to slow and her grip on Percy relax. She let out one final sigh and let all the tension out of her body. “I’m ready to get back on Geneva.”

 

“Good.” Thalia shifted away from Percy, noticing that her back was up against Blackjack’s neck. Geneva swooped in beside them, going so close that her wing was between Blackjack’s forelegs and hind legs.

 

“Hop down,” Percy said. “You’ll be fine.” Thalia carefully swung one leg over Blackjack’s back and then slipped off, landing between Geneva’s wings. “See! That wasn’t so bad!”   
  


“I swear I’ll get you for that, Jackson,” Thalia growled, adjusting to a more comfortable position.

 

Percy just laughed. That bastard.


	59. Public Sleeping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia and Percy have some quality time.

“This is nice.”

 

“Isn’t it?” Percy agreed, bumping Thalia’s shoulder with his own. Thalia had gotten a few days off from the hunt to visit her friends at Camp Half-Blood and had stopped by Percy’s apartment to travel with him. They were sitting at the back of a Greyhound bus, tucked beside each other in one seat. “We haven’t spent much time together in forever.”

 

“Exactly why I’m here right now,” Thalia replied. “I love all my friends, but I want time to enjoy them all separately. You’re different when you're by yourself.”

 

“I’m not by myself,” Percy pointed out, poking her arm.

 

Thalia swatted at his hand. “I mean when you aren’t with Annabeth. You are different. I like seeing who you are yourself.”

 

“That’s deep for you, Thals,” Percy said playfully. 

 

Thalia scowled. “Says  _ you.  _ All you know is from Annabeth.”

 

“Alright, low blow,” Percy complained. “Can’t you be nice?”   
  


“Nope,” she answered. “You’re just too easy to hurt.” As if to prove her point, she elbowed him in the stomach. Hard.

 

“Abuse!” Percy cried, the small smile on his face showing a different story. “Somebody help me!”

 

“Shut up, Kelp Head,” Thalia groaned, tilting her head back against the seat. “Your life is literally full of abuse. Admit it, you like it.”

 

“I will never submit to you!” He said dramatically. “Stay back, foul beast!”

 

“We’re on a bus. I can’t really go very far away from you,” Thalia pointed out.

 

“Uh . . .” Percy trailed off, unable to think of a comeback. “Just leave!”

 

“I don’t think I will,” Thalia said, shifting so that their shoulders brushed. “If you’re so desperate, you leave.”

 

Percy’s face twisted thoughtfully as he tried to think up a response. When he couldn’t, he just plainly stated: “Shit.”

 

Thalia laughed, leaning more heavily onto his shoulder. “Nice comeback,” she taunted.

 

“Shut up,” Percy stuttered. 

 

“No.” Percy groaned and Thalia laughed. “Idiot.”

 

He was quiet for a minute. Then, softly, he said, “I’ve missed this.”

 

“Playful banter?” Thalia asked.

 

Percy nodded. “Annabeth’s great and all, but she doesn’t have the same playfulness you have. She’s too serious to actually joke around with.”   
  
“I feel the same way,” Thalia sighed. “The hunters are all stuck back in the nineteen, eighteen hundreds, some even from the B.C’s. They don’t understand the same things I do.”

 

“Solution: do this more often,” Percy determined. “Artemis would probably let you, right?”   
  
“I think so, but I’ve never asked. She was the one who suggested this.”

 

“Then she would definitely let you,” Percy responded. “Just ask her.”

 

“I think I will,” Thalia smiled, resting her head on his shoulder and sighing contentedly. “How long’s this ride?”

 

“About two hours,” Percy said. “We’ve got another hour and a half at least.”

 

“I’m taking a nap,” Thalia decided, yawning and settling more comfortable against Percy’s side. “Wake me up when we get there.”

 

“Will do,” Percy answered, slinging an arm around her shoulders. “Can’t promise I’ll actually be able to stay awake, though.”

 

“You’ve got a point,” Thalia said against his shoulder. “Whatever. As long as we get there.”

 

“Yep,” Percy said, pressing his cheek against her head and nuzzling into her hair. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.” Thalia hummed in response.   
  


They missed their stop.


	60. Horse Protection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy saves some horses.

“Percy! Where are we going!” Thalia hissed as her cousin dragged her along the sidewalks of Manhattan.

 

“I figured out they’ve still got an option to rent a carriage,” Percy said. “I went and checked it out.”   
  


“Alright. And?” Thalia scowled, annoyed.

 

“See for yourself,” he answered gravely and entered the stable. The owners were nowhere in sight but the horses were. Thalia could see why Percy wanted to bring her along.

 

The horses were in terrible condition. Many of them were skeletal from malnourishment and Thalia looked into some stalls to see horses passed out on the ground without any strength to get up. She winced when she noticed that one of the horses on the ground wasn’t unconscious, it was dead.

 

“Help me free them,” Percy said, already unlatching one of the stalls. Thalia obliged with no complaint.

 

“What about the ones that can’t move?” Thalia asked.

 

“I’ll ask my dad to teleport all of us to Camp Half-Blood. If he doesn’t agree, could you get ahold of Artemis?” Percy explained.

 

“I can try. I doubt she would want to leave these poor things here,” Thalia said while looking sadly at one of the equines. Any horses that could move immediately dragged themselves from their stalls, most going up and nudging Percy. It didn’t take long, there were probably only fifteen horses kept there. Three of them were dead.

 

Percy closed his eyes and prayed to Poseidon.  _ “Dad, please, help me.” _

 

_ “Son? What do you need?”  _ He heard in his head.

 

_ “I’ve got some dying horses here that we need to get to Camp Half-Blood. Could you teleport them there?”  _ Percy asked hopefully.

 

_ “I’m busy, Percy. I’m sorry, but dying is the way of life,”  _ Poseidon responded, retreating from Percy’s head. Percy frowned.

 

“He didn’t agree. Can you . . .” he trailed off, gesturing to her. Thalia nodded and prayed to her patron. After a few moments, she grinned in victory.

 

“She’ll help us.” Percy smiled.

 

“Didn’t take long to convince her,” he commented, asking an unspoken question.

 

“Once I mentioned ‘dying animals’ she was ready to go,” Thalia chuckled, stroking the large head of a pinto mare. Within a minute, a silver glow filled the room and all creatures closed their eyes from the blinding light.

 

When the light died, Artemis stood in its place. She took one look at the horses gathered around the two demigods and a determined look appeared on her face. “I’ll teleport one of you first with all of these horses,” Artemis said, nodding toward the standing ones. “The other will stay behind with me to help teleport them all to camp.”

 

“Percy’d probably do better with the horses,” Thalia said. “Send him ahead.” The male demigod nodded in agreement.

 

Percy appeared in the middle of camp with six horses surrounding him, scaring any demigod in the area. Percy waved a camper over and asked if she could grab the Apollo cabin. She looked hesitantly at the horses and nodded, racing off to wherever the cabin was. One by one, the rest of the horses appeared around him until all twelve horses were at camp. By then Percy could see Will approaching along with four of his siblings.

 

Thalia popped in beside him, though there was no Artemis. “She left,” Thalia explained. “She sends her thanks for rescuing the horses.”

 

“Percy!” Will called before he could answer. “What happened?”   
  


“Found them in a Manhattan stable,” Percy replied. “Just like this. They’re dying, Will.”   
  


“We’ll help them, Percy, don’t worry,” Will said. “It looks like they haven’t been fed in forever. I can’t see any other problem. We’ll feed them until they’re healthy and then we can decide what to do with them.”   
  


“Thank you, Will,” Percy said, sending a silent thanks to Artemis as well.

 

Mortals could be malicious.


	61. Old Stuff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I'm sick.

“Percy, do you realise how old the gods are?” Thalia asked, flicking his shoulder 

 

“Like, thousands of years old,” Percy replied. “Why?”

 

“Because you treat the gods as if they're your average aunts, uncles and cousins,” Thalia answered. “It's going to get you killed one day.”

 

“Not yet!” Percy said cheerfully. “I'm still alive!”

 

“Not for long,” Thalia muttered. “Idiot.”

 

Percy only smirked and pranced away.


	62. I Want You to be Happy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Again, I apologise for the shortness. I'm trying, I swear!

“Come on, Thals,” Percy whined, skipping behind her and being annoyingly happy. “Why so sad?”

 

“Just lay off, Jackson,” Thalia snapped, wrinkling her nose in distaste. “It's none of your business.”

 

“Thalia, you're my girlfriend. Of course it's my business,” Percy responded, slowing down to trot lazily by her side.

 

“That doesn't give you custody over me!” She growled, glaring at Percy with all the hate she could muster.

 

“I never said that!” Percy said quickly. “I'm just saying it gives me rights to worry about you! Isn't that what boyfriends are for?”

 

“No,” Thalia grumbled. “Just leave, will you?”

 

“Not until you tell me!” Percy sang, his gait becoming more energetic once more.

 

“Leave!” Thalia barked, her mouth twisting into a scowl.

 

“Would a kiss make it better?” Percy offered, puckering his lips to her.

 

Thalia snorted. “Not at all.”

 

“You know it will!” He said cheerfully, jumping in front of Thalia and forcing her to stop abruptly.

 

“Back off!” Thalia snarled. “I'll kill you!”

 

“Sure,” Percy muttered. “I'm sure you will.” And with that, he followed up on his promise and kissed her square on the lips.

 

Perhaps kisses did make it a little better.


	63. Music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Campfires are amazing.

Percy always loved the campfires. Being able to be carefree and relax with his friends without worry about monsters or pretty much any of the troubles demigods have. It only got better when he started dating Thalia. Curling up in front of one of the logs used as wooden benches and watching the fire flicker higher and higher, brighter and brighter. Roasting marshmellows, seeing who could fit the most on their stick, competing about who could sing the loudest.

 

“We should put you up to sing at some point,” Thalia commented, nudging Percy in the side with her elbow, which was tucked between their bodies.

 

“What? No!” Percy said immediately. “You know I can’t sing!”

 

“Exactly. I could watch you get laughed at. I’d be hilarious,” Thalia grinned, looking sideways at him.

 

“I’d drag you up with me,” Percy threatened. “I wouldn’t be the only one getting humiliated.”

 

“I can sing better than you, though,” she pointed out. “You’d be getting laughed at more.”

 

“But if it’s both of us up there, how could we tell who’s being laughed at?” Percy countered.

 

“We split the song in half, of course,” Thalia resorted. “That way we both sing but you can still get laughed at and not me.”

 

“As if,” Percy scoffed. “You may be better than me, but that doesn’t mean you’re  _ good.” _ __  
  


“I think you’re just biased. Your opinion doesn’t count.”

 

“That isn’t how this works!” Percy complained. “Then technically your opinion shouldn’t count either!”   
  


“Oh well,” Thalia shrugged. “That’s too bad, isn’t it.”

 

“You’re just saying that because you know I won this argument,” Percy said.

 

“No, I’m not.”

 

“Oh, yes you are.”

 

“Alright then. How about I win it then?” Percy was about to ask how before she kissed him. She knew Percy was a sucker for affection and would always use that to her advantage. Even such as a simple kiss would be enough to fog his mind enough so that she could get what she wanted.

 

“Cheater,” Percy muttered against her lips, feeling a smile spread across Thalia’s face. They only separated when they heard someone clear his throat. Chiron was watching them, a disapproving frown on his face. Right. There was to be ‘no PDA when children are around.’ Thalia thought it was stupid, but what could she do?

 

Percy tightened his arm around her shoulder and leaned close to her ear. “Perhaps we could go somewhere more . . . private?” He suggested, a slight husk to his tone. Thalia smiled, grabbing his hand and pulling him up. They manoeuvred around all the campers, occasionally stepping on a hand but not really caring much.

 

They both collapsed in Percy’s bunk, Thalia immediately rolling atop him and pressing her mouth to his. Percy grunted in surprise but quickly regained his wits, slipping one hand around her back and the other her waist, his fingers slipping slightly under her shirt. Thalia tangled one hand in his hair and cupped his cheek with the other. They broke apart for a second, Percy quickly kissing the corner of her mouth before hitting straight on once more.

 

Thalia ran her tongue over Percy’s lips, urging him to give her access to the inside. He obliged, letting her explore before he took his turn at exploring not her mouth, but her skin. He separated and pressed hot kisses all down her jaw and neck, lining her collarbone and dipping down all the way to her neckline.

 

Oh yes, Percy did indeed love campfires.


	64. Multiple Personalities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Most don't know the other side of the hunters.

Contrary to what was known, the hunters did have a soft side. Every girl did, if you managed to gain their respect. Most of the males thought that was a lie, which was understandable, but Percy would know The only one that he had never seen change, from demigod to huntress, was Thalia Grace. 

 

Thalia had one side to her that she wasn’t afraid of showing and had no need to cover up with hatred. She was strong, impulsive, confident, sarcastic, snarky, cocky, everything that you would think would be in your stereotypical bad boy. Thalia would flaunt her skills, her arrogance, show it off. Men tended to be intimidated by her, wanting to keep her out of their way so that she wouldn’t step in and take up the alpha role. Not as if she would want to, but she definitely could if she wanted to.

 

She did have her softer moments, but they wouldn’t really be considered a ‘soft side.’ It could be sort of like how people are different depending on their company. You might act one way by yourself, a different way with friends, a different way in public, and all of those could be different sides of you or just parts of the same whole. Though the part was small, Thalia did have a kinder part.

 

That kinder part was what allowed Percy to be her friend. It was also the reason he was currently racing through the trees, slipping around trunks and crashing through bushes all without daring to slow down his strides. He could hear her hot on his heels, her steps faint next to his blundering ones yet he could tell she was too close for him to be comfortable.

 

He heard her steps stop for a moment, then there was the sound of something heavy slamming into a tree trunk. Percy had heard that enough times before to know the telltale signs of what was coming. He dropped onto his knees, watching Thalia catapult over him and land on her feet like a cat. He scrambled onto his feet and darted in the other direction, risking a glance over his shoulder to see Thalia smirking at him with a feral grin. Something was up.

 

Percy turned back towards the front and quickly threw his hands in front of him to catch himself from running facefirst into a tree, throwing himself to the side in hopes to keep the chase up, but he felt Thalia crash into his back, sending them both tumbling head over heels through the undergrowth.

 

Percy heard her laugh from above him, gripping his shirt to keep them from separating despite the fact that they were tangled up together already. She wasn’t giving her prey even a chance to get away. Percy knew that Thalia wasn’t going to give him up anytime soon and instead just went limp, slowing their roll immensely and they flopped onto the ground, Thalia sprawled on top of him giggling madly.

 

“Someone enjoyed that,” he groaned, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. He had gotten a headache from his head slamming into the ground that hurt like  _ hell.  _ “Couldn’t you have let me win for once?”

 

“This game depends on who’s the better escapist,” Thalia replied, folding her arms on his chest and resting her chin there, bending her knees to that her legs were dangling in the air. “Which is me. I’m not letting you win until you’re skilled enough to win yourself.”

 

“You’re so nice,” Percy pouted, folding his arms behind his head. “Aren’t I so lucky to have a friend like you?”

 

“Stop it,” she scolded, sparking him slightly. “You love me.”

 

“Do I?” He raised an eyebrow, challenging her to repeat that.

 

“Obviously. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here.”

 

“What if I just wanted to see the rest of the hunt?” Percy pushed.

 

“Then you wouldn’t be letting me to this,” Thalia said, talking about her position at the moment.

 

“What if I’m just nice?”

 

“Yeah, right. Give it up already,” she scoffed, rolling off of him. “Anyways, should we go back?”   
  
Percy looked in the direction of the hunters camp. “Probably.”

 

“Race you there?”

 

“I’m winning!”

 

“Believe what you will.”


	65. Oreo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy finds blue Oreos.

“Thalia, guess what I've found!”

 

“Did you find another fancy seashell?” Thalia sighed. “Another weird looking crab?”

 

“Nope!” Percy exclaimed, skipping up to Thalia. “Look!” He held out on front of him a package of Oreos. Smurf Oreos, to be exact.

 

“You found blue Oreos?” She asked, tapping the wrapper and looking up at him with her eyebrows furrowed.

 

Percy smiled widely. “Yep!”

 

“Amazing,” Thalia said without any enthusiasm.

 

“Oh, come on, don't you like this surprise?” Percy whined, looking up at his cousin with puppy eyes.

 

“I'll like it if you let me eat some,” she declared.

 

“Deal.”

 

“Seriously?” She hadn't expected him to agree. He would share with her? Really?

 

“Of course,” Percy nodded. “Your one of my best friends. I can't leave you out.”

 

“What about Annabeth?” She questioned. “And the rest of the seven?”

 

“I spend a lot of time with them as it is,” Percy said. “I want to spend more time with _you.”_

 

Though she would never say it, Thalia was touched by his statement. Of course he would, always thinking of how others feel before himself. “Thank you.”

 

“Yep,” he mumbled, am Oreo already in his mouth. “Take what you want.”

 

She did, and she couldn't help thinking they were better with Percy.


	66. Be Heard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy makes a discovery.

Alright, I’m good now. Let’s see how many of these I can throw up in a day.

Percy was amazed. Camp had so much, how could anyone possibly get through all of it in a day? There was the arena, the pegasi, the lava wall, things he hadn’t even thought existed. And don’t even get him started on the Greek Gods! Figuring out that they were real after your teacher blew up on you and another one became a centaur made it not so surprising but that didn’t mean the blow still wasn’t there.

One thing that had intrigued him a lot had been the story of Thalia’s pine. Thinking that a girl of only twelve years, his age, had died for her friends was scary yet amazing. She was a legend and he would’ve loved to meet her. Though, by now she would be seventeen and probably hate him like the rest of camp.

Despite all that, sitting up by her pine was a comforting thing to do. It allowed him to be away from all the hatred that for some reason came along with his newbie status and to just watch the world go by without him.

Percy sighed, leaning against the trunk of the tree. “You sound like such an amazing person,” he murmured, closing his eyes and pressing his cheek against the trunk. “Though you probably would’ve hated me. Everyone else does.”

He sighed, thinking of how much better it would be if he actually had a friend here (other than Grover, since he couldn’t participate in the camper activities) when he heard a voice from above him. “Why do they hate you?”

Percy yelped, scrambling to his feet and backing away from the tree, looking up in surprise. There was a young girl, about his age, sitting in one of the branches. Her hair was black and spiky like she had gelled it, and her eyes were a sharp electric blue. “When did you get here?” He gasped.

Thalia grinned, dropping down onto the ground. Percy noticed how her landing didn’t make any noise, despite the multiple pine cones and other various forest litter scattered across the ground. Actually, looking at it, her feet hadn’t landed on the pine cones, they’d gone through the pine cones. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. “My god.”

“It’s not very polite to not introduce yourself,” she taunted, stepping closer. He then saw that her skin was unusually pale, in fact, all of her was. It looked almost . . . transparent, sort of flickering, like she was a ghost.

“P-Percy,” he said. “Percy Jackson.”

The girl grinned. “Well, nice to meet you, Percy. My name’s Thalia Grace.”

His jaw dropped again, his eyes growing even wider. “What?” He yelled. “That’s impossible!”

Thalia just shrugged. “I thought so too, but obviously not. You speaking with me through my tree sort of drew my spirit out, I guess.”

“But . . . why come out for me?” Percy asked. “Why not Annabeth or Luke?”

“I don’t know,” she frowned. “I would’ve if I could, but for some reason, you’re the first one I can actually talk to. I can, you know, come out of my tree for other people, but they can never see me or hear me. You can.”

“You don’t know why?” He said.

“Isn’t that what I just said?” Thalia grinned, bouncing closer, even so that she was practically brushing against him. “You don’t listen very well, do you?”

“I’ve been told I don’t,” he said nervously, not very comfortable with how close she was, even if, as he observed, she was going straight through him. Literally.

“Yeah, I can see,” she laughed. “You never answered my original question.”

Percy thought back to what she had first asked him. Why did everyone hate him? “I don’t know,” he said. “I just arrived here and it was as if that somehow made me the target of everyone’s hatred.”

“Are you claimed?” Thalia asked, looking him over. “I can’t tell who your parent is by looks.”

“I’m not claimed,” he said. “Do you think that’s why?”

“Perhaps,” she said. “It would make you an easier target. Did you do anything to make them hate you?”

“All I’ve done that they know about is killing the minotaur,” Percy said, a slight blush appearing on his face.

Her face lit up with wonder. “That was you I saw? I would think they would get a hero’s welcome!”

“Obviously not,” he sighed. “It only seemed to have made it worse.”

“So, maybe they’re jealous of you,” Thalia mused. “That makes sense. Bullying is a way to cover up envy.”

“So I’m too good, that’s what you’re saying,” Percy replied. “That sort of makes me feel better, but it really doesn’t.”

“Nice to know my compliments help,” she said cheerfully. “If only I could actually touch people. I would love to beat the shit out of whoever’s picking on you.”

“You would do that?” He said, astonished. “But you just met me.”

She scoffed. “So? You seem like a great person. You don’t deserve this hate.”

A wide smile stretched its way onto Percy’s face. Thalia smiled back, and he took notice of how beautiful her smile was, especially with how close she was to him.

Neither had the chance to say anything to each other, though, before someone else entered the scene. “Percy!” Annabeth called, running up the hill towards him. “There you are!”

He stepped around Thalia to answer Annabeth, not feeling comfortable with walking straight through her, and he noticed that she had this look of anguish on her face. When Annabeth reached the peak of the hill, she even stepped halfway into him as if trying to hide herself within his body. It felt odd but he didn’t say anything. “Chiron wants to talk to you,” Annabeth said.

“Alright,” Percy answered. “I’ll meet him at the big house in a minute.”

“What even are you doing up here?” The daughter of Athena asked, her eyes sweeping the area. Thalia edged further into him even though Annabeth had no sight of her.

“I like to come up here,” he said. “It’s a nice place to come and relax.”

“I agree,” Annabeth sighed. “I like coming up here and talking to Thalia. I like to think she can hear me from within the tree, even if I know that would be impossible.”

“Annabeth, no,” he heard Thalia say quietly, stepping out from within him and raising a hand as if to rest it on Annabeth’s shoulder, but it just went right through. Thalia looked heartbroken and Percy looked at her with sorrow. Annabeth seemed to notice his depressing gaze.

“Why do you look so sad?” She asked, stepping forward and through Thalia. The daughter of Zeus cringed, fleeing back towards her tree and tucking herself into the branches.

“It’s nothing,” Percy said. “Go on back. I’ll come down soon.” Annabeth didn’t look very convinced but she left anyway.

He looked to Thalia, who looked back sadly. “It’s painful, knowing that they think that of me when I’m right next to them,” she muttered, looking down.

“I can tell them if you really want,” Percy offered.

Thalia shook her head. “No. It’s better that they didn’t know.”

“If you’re sure,” Percy said. “Now, I need to go. Sorry I couldn’t stay longer.”

“Wait!” Thalia shouted, running up to him as he began to turn. He looked back over his shoulder. She hesitated before continuing. “Could you, maybe, come back and talk to me?” She asked slowly. “It gets lonely up here.”

Percy’s face broke into a grin. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.”


	67. Women

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy doesn't understand women.

“Fuck you,” Percy groaned, laying on the floor with multiple blunt arrows scattered in the dirt around him. “Fuck all you girls.”

“Surely you don’t mean that,” Artemis smiled innocently, fingering her bow and arrow. Her huntresses laughed. 

“Come on, Kelp Head, you’re fine. We didn’t hurt you that bad,” Thalia mocked, prodding his bruised arm with her foot. Percy slapped her shin in retaliation, rolling onto his feet.

“Why do I keep coming back?” Percy sighed. “I’m just used as a punching bag.”

“You love us, don’t lie, Jackson,” Jaislee taunted, her purple eyes glinting with amusement.

“Yeah, yeah, fuck you too,” he scowled playfully. “I’ll just go back to Camp if you’re going to continue treating me like this.”

“Sure,” Phoebe replied, rolling her eyes knowingly. A few of the younger ones didn’t understand that he was joking and looked horrified. Lyric raced up to him with Maisie following behind.

“You can’t leave! Please! We’ll stop!” Lyric begged, looking up at him with wide eyes. Maisie locked onto his legs, looking up at him with her wide green eyes. She had been recruited about a decade ago and was the youngest member of the hunt at seven years old, though she acted younger due to the fact that dryads aged slower than mortals.

Thalia stifled a laugh. “Hey, Lyric,” she said. “C’mere.”

Lyric reluctantly edged back to Thalia. “But he’s gonna leave!” The young girl protested, pointing back to him. Thalia ushered the girl closer, crouching down to whisper in her ear, though still loud enough that the rest of the hunt could hear.

“He’s joking. He won’t leave.” Lyric’s mouth formed an O and she flushed red as the huntresses laughed. Thalia chuckled and ruffled the girl’s hair. “Don’t worry about being embarrassed. You know we’d never hold it against you.”

Percy smiled, taking the dryad still locked onto his legs and lifting her up, resting her on his hip. “I wouldn’t leave so suddenly,” he said.

“Sure you would,” Thalia retaliated. “If it wasn’t for the little ones keeping you here, you’d be perfectly fine with ditching us.”

“But the little ones are here,” Percy pointed out, setting Maisie down and nudging her away. “So I won’t ditch you.”

“Why’ve you suddenly switched sides?” Phoebe asked out of the blue. The two cousins looked at each other, noticing that she was indeed right.

“Uh . . . who wins?” Percy questioned (because that was obviously what mattered).

“Obviously me,” Thalia said, pointing to herself as if to exaggerate her point. “You were supporting my side.”

“Well, you were supporting mine!” 

Thalia growled and lunged toward Percy, raising her fist. He caught her punch, throwing her back. She hit the ground, rolling back onto her feet. The two began to circle each other and the huntresses formed a wall around them.

Thalia, of course, made the first move. She charged at him, raising her fist but instead of punching she lashed out with her other hand, slamming him in the side and sending him staggering. Her foot followed, a kick to his side taking him down. He swept at her legs with his, taking her feet out from under her. He rolled over towards her, grabbing her wrists and they began a wrestle for strength.

Percy saw out of the corner of his eye Artemis crouching low and stringing an arrow. Although it was unclear who she was aiming her and why she would even aim in the first place, Percy fought back against her attempts. He bunched his legs up under him and rolled so that Thalia was on top of him. Before she could pin him, he slammed his feet into her stomach, sending her flying and crashing into her mistress.

The hunters gasped, some cheered, but Percy watched as the two girls tumbled across the ground landing one on top of the other. Artemis grunted as Thalia’s weight landed on her small body, her lieutenant muttering an apology as she rolled off. Thalia stalked back over, a scowl on her face. Artemis stood up, brushing herself off. “I think the winner here is clear.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Thalia grumbled. She had never taken well to losing.

“Try again next time, Thals!” Percy called after her, a smile on his face. She snarled back at him.

Winning was great.


	68. Get Over It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freedom comes with a price.

Running with the hunt was always enjoyable to Percy. He loved not being at war but just staying at camp all the time got boring. The hunt allowed him to fight, to have an adventure with his friends and not have to worry about a time limit or the end of the world. The hunt was great.

Until it wasn’t.

It had just been a normal hunt. There had been reports of Lycaon and his pack running through the area, wreaking havoc on travellers and demigods. So they had gone to kill him again.

It had seemed normal at first. There was Lycaon and his pack, about ten to fifteen wolves, as there always was. The fight had been going fine up until Lycaon released the rest of his pack.

He’d never had more than those ten or fifteen, but suddenly there were dozens of more werewolves right on top of them, flooding out of the trees. The huntresses aimed their bows towards the newcomers, having to watch each other’s backs due to the wolves being on both sides. Percy stayed focused on the old pack, killing them off before they could get to the hunters and attack them from behind. Artemis fought Lycaon, killing any wolf that dared try and interfere with her fight. 

Then the fight turned out of their favour. One hunter dropped, and then another. Percy finished off the wolves in the middle and turned towards the ones attacking the hunters, but he was only one person. He cringed as he saw a huntress get tackled by a werewolf and his teeth sank into her neck. 

If there was one thing he wasn’t prepared for, it had been her fall. She screamed and he turned toward her, eyes widening and his mouth opening in a silent yell. Thalia dropped onto her knees, a werewolf on her back scratching and biting at her. An arrow struck the beast, sending it to Tartarus, but the damage was done. Thalia dropped onto the ground, panting heavily as blood flowed from her back.

Percy charged at her, slaying any wolf that dared get in his path. Bela had gotten there before him and she was trying to fend off the wolves as she dropped her pack onto the ground to try and heal her lieutenant. Percy took over keeping the wolves at bay so that she could focus on Thalia.

The wolves eventually were all dead, but at a cost that seemed almost too great. Over half the huntresses had died in that battle. He heard many of the remaining girls stifle sobs, some not even bothering to stifle their cries. Most of the hunters were injured, Jaislee handing out ambrosia and nectar to all of them as Bela worked on Thalia. Surprisingly, Thalia was the only one that wasn’t immediately killed.

Percy crouched by her side, tucking her hair behind her ear. Her face was pale, one cheek pressed into the ground and her eyes half closed. Her breaths came in quick gasps, her chest heaving as she struggled to breathe through the injuries in her back.

“Oh, my lieutenant,” he heard Artemis exhale, kneeling by his side to take a look at Thalia.

Thalia blinked fast, locking eyes with her lady. “Don’t use up all this on me,” she rasped. “It’s useless.”

“Don’t say that,” Artemis gasped, resting her hand on Thalia’s shoulder. “Please. We can save you.”

“Mi’Lady, Thalia’s right,” Bela said from the girl’s side. “It’s pointless. She only has minutes to live.”

“Thalia, no,” Percy blinked back tears, watching one of his best friends slowly die in front of him. “You can’t die. Please.”

“It’ll be okay,” she smiled sadly. “I’ll see Luke again.”

“But what about Jason? And Annabeth? And us?” He protested, gripping her hand tightly as if it could keep her grounded.

“They’ll have to live without me,” she said. “It’s not like it’ll be any different, with me always being away with the hunt.”

“But what about the hunt?” Artemis said quietly, tears of her own dropping onto Thalia’s back. “You’ve been here for only a few years. I don’t want to have to choose another lieutenant so soon.”

“The hunt’ll do fine,” the daughter of Zeus soothed. “I trust your judgement, Artemis. You’ll choose a fine replacement.” Her breath shuddered, her eyelids flickering as she fought for a few more moments. It seemed she lost, as her eyelids dropped and her breathing stopped in one last puff.

Multiple hunters sobbed, and he heard Artemis whimper from his side. He reluctantly put an arm around the goddess’s shoulder, trying to comfort her, and was surprised when she collapsed into his side and cried into his shoulder. He squeezed his eyes shut, his own tears falling into Artemis’s auburn hair.

Freedom always had its consequences.


	69. Daylight Savings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm still a day behind.

“Seriously Apollo,” Thalia groaned, tugging at his chains and scowling. “How did you manage to get here?”

“I thought I could take a few monsters!” Apollo protested. “I hadn’t thought they’d be able to restrain my powers.”

“Maybe next time don’t underestimate your enemies,” Thalia scolded him, taking out her daggers and cutting his chains off. “Now kill these fuckers, please.”

“Your wish is my command,” Apollo replied, bowing before yelling to Percy to close his eyes. The young god began to glow and Thalia shut her eyes, watching the flare of light from behind her eyelids. When she opened them again, all the monsters were dead and Apollo was normal.

“Thank you for rescuing me,” Apollo said as Percy came and joined them. “But I should probably inform the council about this. They’ll want to know that the monsters have access to godly chains.”

“Yeah, so that no one else gets captured. Because we all know who’d have to go and rescue them,” Percy complained, glaring at Apollo.

He raised his hands in surrender. “Hey, I didn’t know! You can’t blame me!”

Percy just sighed. “At least we know now. Alright, Apollo, you’re off the hook. Shoo.” The sun god wisely did as he was told.

Thalia moaned, flopping onto the ground. “Thank the gods that’s over,” she exhaled. “I’m not sure I could’ve taken another day of quest.”

“I think that, after this, I am going to hide from the gods so that they physically cannot send me on another quest. I don’t care if fucking Zeus is captured, I refuse.”

“I’m with you,” Thalia said, sitting beside him. “I never got a big quest like you did, but the side quests are starting to blur together I’ve been on so many.”

“All because the gods can’t take care of themselves,” Percy sighed. “Seriously, can’t you be responsible?” The sky rumbled in response.

“Doubtful,” Thalia said. “When they can just get us to do it, why do they need to take care of themselves?”

“That’s true,” Percy responded. “Just use your slaves - sorry, kids.”

Thalia laughed. “About right,” she said. “They would be child abusers if they weren’t gods.”

“I never had a childhood,” Percy answered. “I don’t count.”

“Did any of us really have childhoods?” Thalia asked. “I mean, I ran away before I could, as did half the camp. The other half were brought here before they could even be a teen.”

“So a sort of childhood,” Percy amended. Thalia chuckled, moving over to thread her hand through his hair. “Teenage childhood.”

“Though did we really have a life beforehand?” Thalia questioned. “Most of us had no friends and were failing our classes.”

“Athena kids weren’t,” Percy commented, leaning into Thalia’s touch as she massaged his head. “They probably had straight A’s.”

“Yeah, well, they’re all smartasses,” Thalia replied, as if that changed everything. “They don’t count.”

“Annabeth?” Percy asked, closing his eyes from the bright glare of the sun.

“She’s okay. Still a smartass.” Percy chuckled quietly.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes. “Hey, Thals?”

“Yeah, Perce?”

“What would life be like if we weren’t demigods?”

“Oh, wouldn’t that be nice?” Thalia said wistfully. “No wars with our biggest enemy being school and homework. Friends that were just as normal as us and no freaky powers to make us different. Normal parents and a loving family. It sounds amazing.”

“The only problem is that I wouldn’t be as close to my friends. We could never reach that same connection,” Percy pointed out. “I like all my friends and how close we are. It makes a lot of this worth it.”

“The losses almost make it not,” Thalia exhaled.

“Don’t think about who died,” Percy commanded. “Think about who would’ve if they hadn’t.”

“Wise words, Kelp Head,” Thalia said fondly, scratching at his scalp. “We should probably move.”

“You’re right,” Percy sighed. “At least we’ll be going back to camp.”

“The sooner we go, the sooner we can get to camp,” Thalia threatened, rolling away from him. He groaned at the loss of contact, reluctantly getting up.

“Race you to the nearest town?” Thalia asked, bouncing on her heels.

Percy smirked. “You’re on!”


	70. Napping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia needs to relax.

Thalia stumbled into their shared apartment, groaning and gripping her head. “Percy, we need to go. Move.”   
  


“You don’t look too good,” Percy said from his position in bed. “Why don’t you lay down for a bit?”   
  


“We don’t have time,” she protested. “We need to be there by four thirty, remember? It’s four already!”   
  


“Do we really have to go?” Percy asked. “I mean, what good will it do us?”   
  


“Percy!” Thalia scolded. “We’ve already agreed to go. We can’t just bail out now.”

 

“Sure we can,” the boy said. “Just block them and never talk to them again.”

 

“And I thought  _ I  _ was the mean one here,” she grumbled. “Not happening. Get up.”

 

“Thalia!” He whined. “Come on! Please!”   
  


“No,” she said, a yawn escaping her. She wanted badly to lay down and be done after the long day, but they had somewhere to be. She refused to just abandon their appointment.

 

As she sat down to change from her running shoes to more comfortable boots, she felt Percy’s arms wrap around her waist and pull her back onto the bed. “Percy, let me go!” She complained, struggling against his arms that locked her against his side.

 

“Just be quiet and relax,” Percy muttered, tucking her into her side and setting his head back against the pillows. “You’re obviously tired.”

 

“We need to go!” Thalia fought, twisting to and fro in his arms to no avail. “Let go, Percy!”   
  


“Nope,” he mumbled, moving his hand up to massage her temples. “Relax, dear. It’ll do you good.”

 

“Please,” she begged, but even she knew it was no use. His hand against her scalp felt so good, especially against the migraine that had been slowly growing over the day. Her eyes reluctantly fluttered closed, a sigh of relief falling from her lips.

 

Percy smiled as she finally gave in, nuzzling into his side and relaxing. He massaged her head as her breaths slowed and she slowly slipped into dreams. He pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead and closed his own eyes, fully prepared for the beating he’d probably receive when they awoke.

 

Worth it.


	71. Plant a Flower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia's sad.

“If you could, would you change what tree you are?” Percy asked, sitting against the trunk of Thalia’s pine and stretching his legs out in front of him. Said daughter of Zeus hopped out of the trunk, sitting down in front of him, even if that meant sitting inside his legs. He’d learnt quickly being a ghost meant no sense of personal space.

“Weird question. Why?” She asked instead of answering.

Percy shrugged. “I thought about it and figured it would be an interesting conversation starter, but now I’m genuinely curious.”

“Gods, anything?” Thalia mused. “I like being a tree, but what other types of trees could I be?”

“There’s oak, birch, those giant redwoods,” Percy said, listing off the top of his head.

“Not anything huge. I’m okay with my general size,” Thalia shot down, looking up at her pine. “You know, I think I like my pine.”

“Any reason why?” Percy asked.

Thalia’s face scrunched up in thought. “I don’t know. I guess I just can’t imagine not being a pine tree. Besides, pine’s are cool. They can survive through the whole winter, unlike most other trees. Very tough.”

“I can understand that,” he agreed.

Thalia smiled at him. “What about you?”

“What?”

“What would you be?” He thought about it. He wouldn’t want to be anything big but nothing too small, either.

“A rose bush,” he decided.

Thalia looked taken aback. “Rose bush?” She asked incredulously. “Why?”

“They’re pretty on the outside but are actually covered in thorns,” Percy stated. “I’ve been bullied my whole life. Being adored but having a way of defence would be a nice change to how I’ve always lived.”

“That makes sense,” Thalia agreed. “Man, your life must’ve been miserable.”

“It was,” Percy confirmed. “Though being at camp is better, even if I do still get bullied. I’ve at least got friends here.”

“What about me?” Thalia asked, narrowing her eyes at him threateningly.

“You’re a friend,” Percy said. “Technically you were included in the statement of why this is better since you are considered a ‘friend.’”

“Just making sure,” she said, a grin set upon her face. Percy chuckled at her antics. 

Thalia suddenly stiffened, her smile dropping off of her face. “They’re coming,” Thalia said, her form flickering. Percy stayed silent, knowing that this meant Annabeth and Luke were coming up the hill.

“Hey, Perce!” Luke greeted him when he and Annabeth crested the hill. “Still coming here?”

“Every day,” Percy answered, giving the teen a hesitant smile. “You know I enjoy it up here.”

“Well, we’re just here to talk with Thalia. As always,” Luke told him. Percy grunted in affirmation. “You can stay where you are, if you’re comfortable.”

“Thanks,” Percy muttered, glancing at Thalia. Annabeth hopped over his legs, passing through Thalia unknowingly. The daughter of Zeus suddenly disappeared, reappearing behind him with her legs curled up inside his torso and the rest of her body halfway inside the trunk of her tree. He was used to this now, her being so jumpy around Annabeth and Luke.

He listened to Luke talk to Thalia, watching the two demigods talk to the tree. He didn’t really pay much attention until something Annabeth said caught his attention.

“You had always wanted us to be adventurous, to help other demigods,” the daughter of Athena sighed. “I wonder what you’d think of what we’re doing. You’d probably be so disappointed in me.”

“Annabeth, no,” Luke said. “She wanted us to come to camp. She’d love being here with you.”

“But don’t you remember how she had said we’d help demigods?” Annabeth said. “She had said she’d want to go on quests to help other demigods. That was her plan.”

“Annabeth, no,” Thalia said quietly. “I don’t want you to risk your peace for what I wanted.”

“Annabeth-” Luke tried, but Annabeth refused.

“You remember,” she said. “Don’t you?” Luke was silent.

Percy decided to but in. “Annabeth, Thalia wouldn’t have wanted you to risk your peace for what she wanted. You were a child. She would’ve done it herself, if you’ve taught me anything about her.”

“How would you know?” Annabeth challenged. “It’s not like you knew her.”

“I think I know enough about her,” Percy said, smiling knowingly.

“He’s right,” Luke agreed. “She would’ve done it herself, most likely.”

“I guess that’s true,” Annabeth sighed. “Thanks, Percy.”

“Of course,” he answered, watching the duo leave. It took a few moments, but Thalia eventually spoke.

“Thank you,” she said, almost too quiet for him to hear despite her being almost inside him. “I don’t think you understand how happy that makes me.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Percy responded. “She’s my friend, too.”

“I do think you’re revealing too much, though. It isn’t a good idea for her to know you can see me.”

“We’ll be fine. Don’t worry,” he smiled. She smiled back.

“I won’t.”


	72. Jewel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is almost over. It's kind of sad.

Annabeth was in love with Percy. It was a well-known fact that the whole camp knew, even Percy himself. Of course, he did, they were dating. But she wasn’t sure if he loved her.

 

They would go on dates frequently, usually have a dinner date and maybe see a movie afterwards. She loved it, being able to talk with him and hold his hand and rest her head on his shoulder. She especially loved being able to cuddle with him afterwards, when they occasionally stayed at Sally’s place. She’d figured out she loved to touch.

 

Her favourite part of him was his eyes. They were his gems, sparkling and truly beautiful compared to what was considered a normal ‘eye.’ A glinting sea green, shining like a jewel. Probably the most attractive part of him.

 

The only problem was that he never seemed into it. His eyes didn’t light up when they saw her like she noticed they did when he saw  _ her,  _ a smile didn’t appear on his face every time he greeted her like it did when he greeted  _ her.  _ He didn’t just casually throw an arm around her shoulder like he did when he was with  _ her.  _

 

If she wasn’t mistaken, he wasn’t in love with Annabeth. He was in love with  _ her. _

 

_ Her.  _ Thalia Grace. Ex-huntress, mentally somewhere around twenty years but physically seventeen. A perfect match in age, that was for sure. He was only a year older. Annabeth, she was the same age as him, but, of course, that didn’t mean anything. In fact, logically, someone of the same age might even be less appealing.

 

Another thing about her: Thalia could relate to him. More than Annabeth, at least. Both were children of the big three, having suffered the same treatment by campers, gods, and most likely even mortals. Annabeth, she’d never experienced the same admiration they had, the same seclusion. She’d always been sort of like a model for a typical Athenian camper, which was intelligent, more on the lonely side and normal. Percy and Thalia had been regarded as if they were royalty.

 

Thalia was also beautiful. Annabeth had been told she was pretty, with stormy grey eyes and princess curls in the brightest of blondes. She’d also been told her eyes would scare away any men, her hair would blind any who looked at her. Thalia’s eyes were as beautiful as his: sparking blue, flickering with lightning and looking like someone had just rolled up a storm and shoved it into her eyes. They were fierce, making you afraid but at the same time pulling you in. Her hair expressed her dramatic personality perfectly, shining like the darkest of nights. A queen next to Annabeth’s princess.

 

Percy had never seemed to enjoy how much Annabeth liked to touch. Thalia had always seemed like she would be against touching, but with Percy, she shared the same affinity and he always seemed happy to oblige. It hit her like a bullet, straight to the heart.

 

She watched every day as the two would constantly join each other at their tables, sometimes at Poseidon, sometimes at Zeus. Nobody ever commented on it, and Annabeth doubted they would stop even if someone did. He would say something and she would laugh, she would steal some of his food and he would shove her shoulder playfully. It was something that seemed so easy for her, but in reality, was so far away.

 

Thalia would sometimes press a quick kiss to Percy’s cheek after campfires or whenever he gifted her with something. Neither thought much of it (or so it seemed) but Annabeth felt a pang in her heart every time it happened.

 

Life was painful. But she clung to him in hopes he would grow to love her the same way she loved him.

 

Something told her he never would.


	73. Write Down your Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAHHHHH

“I heard you’re writing a series about Percy’s life,” Thalia said, sitting on the couch next to Sally as Percy headed for the kitchen. The mother had her laptop on her legs as she typed in a google doc. “Care to confirm?”   
  


“I am,” Sally replied, smiling at the girl. “I’m already on book three, about his third quest.”

 

“Sticking to the storyline?” Thalia said teasingly, leaning over to read what was on the page. It was in English, so the words just swirled off the page.

 

“Of course,” Sally answered. “I might change some things later, though. Not everything needs to be revealed.”

 

“I vote that you keep Thalia and I’s relationship secret,” Percy said, coming out of the kitchen with a Root Beer and a Dr Pepper. 

 

“I don’t understand why,” Sally told him. “It isn’t like you’re hiding it from camp and the mortals.”

 

“I think it makes sense,” Thalia interrupted. “I mean, we’d like to keep a few things personal instead of revealing  _ everything  _ to the world, even if they think we’re fictional.”

 

“At least you’re giving me an explanation. I’d be perfectly fine with that,” Sally responded. “Now, why don’t you two help me here? Explain in full detail what happened at the Smithsonian. Don’t leave out anything.”

 

Later that night, after Sally had retired to bed, the young couple sat curled up on the couch watching a movie. “How do you feel about what your mom’s writing?” Thalia asked abruptly, resting her chin on Percy’s shoulder to look at his face.

 

He shrugged. “I guess I’m okay with it. It’s fictional, so it isn’t like anyone will try and find us. It won’t disturb our peace and it’ll get the chance for demigods to get the recognition they deserve. If anything, it’s for the better.”

 

“I wasn’t sure if you’d be comfortable sharing your life like that,” Thalia commented.

 

“Mom made sure I was okay with it before starting. Trust me, I was pestered about it. I thought hard,” Percy smiled. Thalia smiled back, curling further into the crook of his arm and resting her head against his chest.

 

“Do you think it’ll get popular?” Percy said suddenly.

 

“Possibly. Do you want it to?” Thalia countered.

 

“I do. Not for fame, but so that the world can know that kids go through a lot. It isn’t just adults that suffer, so do we.”

 

“Wise words,” Thalia responded, yawning slightly. “Maybe they’ll make fanart about us.”

 

“Maybe they’ll make fanfictions,” Percy laughed. “Imagine if they actually managed to get our relationship right.”

 

“Doubtful,” Thalia chuckled. “They’ll stick with the canon Percy and Annabeth couple. They’ll be ship names and everything. You’ll be a part of Percabeth.”

 

“Why Percabeth?”

 

“I don’t know. What else would it be? Annercy?” Thalia scoffed. “That sounds terrible.”

 

“We’ll be Perlia,” Percy decided. “I think that sounds nice.”

 

“It does,” Thalia agreed. “Maybe, if the fandom grows enough, they’ll start going outside of Percabeth and get to us.”

 

“Imagine all the relationships they’d come up with,” Percy said. “Pair me with Piper, Hazel, maybe even Jason or Leo.”

 

“Don’t you know anything? Fandoms love gays,” Thalia informed him. “You’ll most definitely be paired with Jason or Leo. Nico, too, probably.”

 

“Hmm. Do you think they’d pair me with gods?” Percy wondered.

 

Thalia snorted. “Of course they would. How horrible would that be? You with Aphrodite? Athena?  _ Artemis?”  _ The couple laughed heartily. 

 

“I can’t wait to read those fanfictions,” Percy said, turning to press his lips into her hair. “We’ll read them all.”

 

“They’ll be a lot,” Thalia said warningly. “If it gets as popular as you want it to, they’ll be thousands upon thousands of fanfictions to read.”

 

“We’ll read all the ones with  _ us  _ as the pairing,” Percy declared.

 

“Sure we will,” Thalia muttered. “You’ll make sure of it.”

 

“We’ll find a way. After all, the fandom will be  _ crazy. _ ”

 

“I’m sure they will.”

 

**That was fun.**

 

**Can you believe that this book is finished? Completed? Done? It’s kind of sad, but I’m truthfully really excited to start the next book. It’s going to be my all-time favourite pairing, Pertemis. That’s going up tomorrow.**

 

**But what a ride this has been! Me just now putting up that missing chapter (oops) but still, one chapter a day for seventy-three days! This has been hard, especially at certain times (as you know) but we’ve made it!**

 

**I will admit, this has given me advantages. I know the national day every day and I know how many days it’s been from 2018** **_every single day._ ** **I will seriously at random times during the day just tell someone ‘hey, it’s the seventy-third day of the year’ and watch them look at me like I’m crazy. It’s great.**

 

**Anyways, thank you to all of my supporters! Some of you have reviewed and told me about how you’re liking it, some of you have favourited, and some of you have just read it all the way through, but I see all of this and I must say, whether you’re new or old, thank you** **_so much._ ** **All of this support is absolutely amazing. Seriously, fifty reviews? Already? Crazy!**

 

**Thank you all. I hope you’ve enjoyed this and I hope you will enjoy the next book, DownPour.**

 

**Cheers.**


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